


Apparition

by roseaerie



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, DNF, Developing Relationship, DreamSMP - Freeform, DreamTeam, Flirting, Fluff, Internal Conflict, Love Confessions, M/M, Nightmares, Romance, Secret Crush, dreamnotfound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 26,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseaerie/pseuds/roseaerie
Summary: George has been stripped from his title as king. All hope is lost for him. He is wandering along a path when he is threatened and thrown down a very deep hole, concealed by red roots. George is immediately thrown into another place full of danger and surprises at every turn. When Dream learns of George's disappearance, he immediately follows him down. Dream is determined to protect his friend, or will they be more than that? As a strong bond only gets stronger, plans of war loom over their heads. They'll need an army to make this happen.This book is basically minecraft irl :)
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & GeorgeNotFound, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Wilbur Soot
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George's reign over L'Manburg comes to an end, as Dream strips his throne away from him in order for him to "protect him". George is convinced his best friend hates him. He spends the rest of his day in Mexican L'Manburg by the waterfall.

It all started off with a prank.

Nobody knew it would end up being so much more.

Quackity giggles as he places the dirt and item frames for a massive portrait. George is AFK for now, so he wants to surprise him when he gets back. Both boys are just outside Tommy's house, planning to play a prank on him.

As he finishes placing the last piece of dirt, he places the gigantic photo onto the massive frame.

He immediately cannot stop laughing. The photo is of George with a horrendous look on his face, edited into a Snapchat. It is a masterpiece

George hears Quackity's stifled giggling, and can't help but look. He sees the photo of himself and immediately rolls his eyes. 

"QUACKITY WHAT IS THAT?" George yells.

Quackity is too busy laughing to answer him. 

They continue goofing around, and promptly agree to do a massive prank on the whole SMP. They are going to download meme photos of everyone on the SMP, and then place them on massive posters all around the SMP. George decides he wants to get some more leather, so he sends out a chat asking the whole server. Techno immediately responds, saying he has some. 

George swipes away the voice in his head warning him not to trust him, as he runs along the Prime Path looking for the infamous Technoblade. When he finally finds him, he gasps. 

All he can see is floating netherite armor as it turns towards him and starts charging forward.

George gasps and starts desperately running away. After what seems like hours of running from Techno, he starts to fall behind, and Techno starts doing serious damage to George. George quickly logs out and negotiates peace. 

He finds out that Techno considers himself retired from violence, which he can't help but be skeptical of. 

Back up by Tommy's house, Dream logs into the SMP where he is met with the terrible picture of George. Normally, Dream would start wheezing and join in on making fun of George, but he has a much more pressing matter to discuss. 

He hadn't been able to stop thinking lately. His mind had been racing on how to deal with Tommy, as well as trying to keep his best friend George's best interests in mind. He was going to propose a new idea to his friends.

George and Quackity quickly discover Dream as well as Sapnap, who had just joined, and Dream launches straight into his idea.

"I think George should step down from his role as king," Dream states. 

They are both stunned into silence for a few seconds. They couldn't believe their ears.

"I mean think about it guys, George has been getting attacked for no reason, and he hasn't really done many kingly things. I'm thinking about giving the crown back to Eret. All I need is George to say he steps down!" Dream says with confidence. He is sure it is one of his best ideas.

George is stunned. How could his best friend- the one who has always supported him and been by his side- just give up on him like that.

Almost immediately, Sapnap and Quackity begin to protest and tell Dream what a terrible idea they think it is. 

George simply does not speak. He can't. He is too hurt.

When he finally snaps out of his trance, he realizes Sapnap and Quackity are guiding him in the direction of Mexican L'manburg. 

Upon arrival, they immediately begin plotting how to get George his throne back. 

George cannot hear them. He is too stunned to listen. He slowly walks away from his friends, who are so deep into plotting they don't even notice. 

As he walks toward the waterfall, he realizes how windy it is up there. Even the wind is against him. He sits down next to the waterfall, numb to all his feelings. 

In a way, it's sort of horrifically ironic. George was just talking to Sapnap the other day about how he can feel this unmistakable connection and sense of safety he felt when near Dream. 

But now, everything he thought was a lie. 

One of the people he cared about and counted on the most, absolutely hated him.

He lets out a long sigh as he fiddles with the grass around him, then he runs his hand through the waterfall.

In a way, the water reminds him of Dream. Powerful and strong, stopping for no one, always there to be a little bit of beauty in an otherwise dull world. "Oh Dream," he sighs. "What did I do wrong?"

He desperately looks to the stars, tears in his eyes, pleading for an answer. The suffocating silence crushes him like dead weight as he falls back onto the grass, sobbing for what he had lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Apparition! I love to write, and I will likely be posting a new chapter or two every day! I appreciate your guys support of everything I do, and special thanks to my Twitter followers for coming here to read! <3  
> ~  
> I am cross-posting this on Wattpad as well as ao3! My Wattpad username is @whiterosewastaken! <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream begins to question if the choice to dethrone George was the right one.

~DREAMS POV~

As I stare out across L'manburg, I can't help but think about how much it had changed over time. How much I had changed it.

I was literally standing over the massive hole smack dab in the middle of the land, that I had part of the blame for creating. 

As my gaze shifts upward, my eyes fall on the looming walls in the distance. I did that too. 

But it was all for the good of the SMP, right? Surely I was doing the right thing?

I can't go back on myself now. I just can't. 

But, involuntarily, my eyes land on the place that attracts my one true weakness. It is a huge mountain, with a beautiful waterfall cascading down the side. 

I had always longed to sit by the water. It has always given me some weird sense of hope. Like if that water can do almost anything, so could I. If that water could be so strong in the face of adversity, so could I. 

My mind drifts to thinking about George. I know how much he loves that area.

Dethroning him was the right idea. It had to be. 

I feel a stab of guilt as I reflect on the pain I saw in George's eyes when he realized I wanted to dethrone him. I didn't want to hurt him. He is, well... was, one of my best friends.

I had to keep him safe. I HAD to. If making him hate me was the way to do it, then so be it.

As I look to the stars, I slide my mask back. I say a silent prayer that I can be the strong person L'manburg needs to be. 

But now, my time for feelings is over. Feelings will just make me weak. I feel my face harden back into the frown that is beginning to feel like second nature, as I slide my mask back over my face. I know I am doing the right thing. 

So why does it feel so wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap consoles George, heartbroken over the way he has been treated.

George didn't know how long he had been sitting next to the waterfall.

Minutes, hours, days... he just didn't know.

His tears had stopped a little bit ago. He didn't think he could cry anymore. All he felt was that same numbness he had felt before. 

He didn't know if he would ever feel anything again.

His friends were very worried about him. They had never seen George this sad. This unable to do anything. Sapnap whispered inaudibly to Quackity, and began to start toward George, walking softly as to not alarm the boy in so much pain.

George realized there was someone standing next to him. He made no effort to acknowledge the presence, nor did he attempt to wipe the tears from his face. 

What was even the point of caring anymore?

Sapnap knew his friend very well. He knew that George would only speak if he wanted to, and the best thing he could do was be there for his friend. His heart absolutely broke for George. He knew how much his best friend meant to him, and with a heart heavier than an anvil, sat down next to George.

As he looked out on L'manburg and beyond. To anyone passing by, it would look so beautiful. It still looked beautiful to him, but he wasn't oblivious to all the hatred and pain that had been caused between those walls, darker than the night.

As he slowly looked at George, if his heart wasn't broken before, it certainly was now. His posture was rigid, spine so straight and stiff he knew he would be in a lot of pain the next morning. His mouth was set into a hard line, and the most startling of all was his eyes. 

Even in some of the worst moments, Sapnap could look into the eyes of his close friend and be comforted, because they always held a hint of the joy and passion he so often saw from him. 

No longer.

Void of all emotion except crippling sadness, they were lifted to the stars. He had a pleading look on his face, as if he was just asking to be forgiven.

With a heavy sigh, Sapnap scooted closer to George. He thought he would lean away, but he felt George inch a little closer to him. Closing the distance, Sapnap lightly put his arms around George. He felt the small boy go even more rigid, then eventually relax into him. Then, George started to sob again.

"I- I just don't understand Sapnap," George said desperately. "HOW COULD HE? How could he do this to me?" His voice broke as he wept mournfully. 

At that very moment, something snapped in Sapnap. He would not, could not, let Dream get away with this. But now was not the time for anger. Not when his best friend was blaming himself. 

No.

The anger would come later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George listens to a song that makes him very emotional, thinking about what he had lost.

Dream had never had such a hard time before. He couldn't quite put a finger on it. Why was he struggling with his emotions so much? Tubbo had been telling him he wasn't acting the same, and he had gotten really good at denying it. And yet... Tubbo was absolutely right.

It had been two weeks since he had removed George from the throne.

Two weeks without talking to or even SEEING a major part of his life, that he had been interacting with every single day before this.

He hadn't even talked to Sapnap.

He did have an interaction with Quackity that had chilled him to the bone. Quackity had left Mexican L'manburg to gather some resources, and he passed by Dream on the Prime Path. 

The look Quackity gave him was filled with so much hate and rage, Dream got chills.

As Dream pulled himself out of his thoughts, he heaved a sigh and shifted to lying down on the bench he had been spending over 4 hours a day sitting on for the past week.

This bench had conveniently been placed with a perfect view of Mexican L'Manburg. But that's not why he was sitting there... right?

It was getting harder and harder to give himself affirmations every day. As he gazed upon the leaves of an oak tree shading his head, he couldn't help but question himself yet again.

Did he do the right thing?

* * *

Back at Mexican L'Manburg, George was sitting at his usual spot by the waterfall, looking out at L'Manburg. 

He heard a splash and whipped his head up to see a flash of lime green. 

"Dream?"

But no. No one was there.

George stared at that spot where his brain had let him see his best friend momentarily, and felt yet another crack form in his heart. He was beginning to wonder how it was even still intact. 

It was too quiet up here on the mountain by himself. Sapnap and Quackity had left him to his thoughts, most likely expanding somewhere.

As he turned his head back to staring at L'Manburg, he slipped his earbuds in to listen to music.

[Listen with George!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwgzNYCSivk&feature=emb_logo)

As George let the somber lyrics and the sorrowful melody wash over him, he couldn't help but be overcome by memories of Dream.

The first day on the SMP, the building of the community house, all the late nights gathering resources while Dream kept him company, traversing all over the world with Dream, watching the sunset together...

It was just too much for him. His eyes filled with all the tears he had been holding in for weeks. His hand clamped over his mouth in an attempt to stop sobbing but to no avail.

Normally, he would have his best friend there to put an arm around him, give him a playful punch, and tell him how stupid he was for letting something small get to him.

"AWW Gogy you're so soft! You're ok, you've got me! Chin up now, and stop crying! I'll always be here to make you smile." Dreams words echoed through Georges's head.

The empty memories of Dream's comfort made him so incredibly sad. What George wouldn't do to have him by his side again. He knew he should feel mad, but he hadn't spoken to his best friend in two weeks. He didn't even care about being mad anymore.

He felt completely and utterly alone without Dream. 

Dream hated him.

Who would comfort him?

Who would tell him he was loved?

Who would give him a punch on the arm and a quick hug that would tell him everything was going to be ok?

He knew he could never go into L'Manburg again. He couldn't face the smug looks of his so-called friends who hadn't wanted him to become king in the first place.

Truth is, he loved L'Manburg. It had always had the most beautiful scenery, as well as almost every one of the things built, was attached to a meaningful moment. 

Maybe it was for the best he didn't have to go there again.

He risked one more look at L'Manburg as the ending notes of the song played, tears rolling down his cheeks, and placed his head in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHORS NOTE
> 
> whew ok writing that one defo made me cry a bit... if you are tired of all this sadness, I will try and write another chapter today! I think I may be able to make it a little bit happier lolll
> 
> Thank you guys for reading this far, I really appreciate it. I hope each and every one of you know how much I care about you! I hope you are enjoying the story!
> 
> As always, if you have any sort of suggestions or anything you want to be written out, I would love to hear them! DM me on Twitter or leave a comment on any of the chapters! Thank you all for your support! :D
> 
> -Addison :]


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has an interesting conversation with Sapnap, finding out something he didn't know.

Sapnap had been very busy for the past few weeks.

He and Quackity had to carry on with the production of Mexican L'Manburg, since they knew they needed to be prepared if a war was coming.

He felt a little guilty, as he hadn't really had time to check up on George lately, so that was what he decided to do today.

He was just North of L'Manburg gathering resources to start on the next big expansion of their land, and was on his way back when he saw a most peculiar sight. It was Dream, lying on a bench staring up at the leaves of a tall oak tree.

Sapnap was confused because Dream had made quite a bit of allies when he made the choice to strip George of his title as King, and gave the throne back to Eret.

Why wasn't Dream with anyone?

He knew he shouldn't care since he was so angry at his former friend for his poor choice, but somehow he felt that piece of his heart he had for Dream break a little.

Against all better judgment, Sapnap began to slowly approach the taller man. As he got closer, he could hear him crying.

This was just getting so weird. Sapnap had NEVER seen Dream cry, much less be sad. Dream had always been closed off toward him. Happy and nice, of course, but he didn't really ever cry around Sapnap.

"Why? Why is this so hard? What is this responsibility placed on me?" Dream asked the sky in desperation. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Sapnap could hear Dreams voice break on that last sentence. 

He couldn't help but feel terrible for his former friend. Plus, this sorta changed the game a little bit. Dream felt bad. None of the 3 boys knew this. They all thought he had been super happy with his decision.

Sapnap took a step towards the bench, and then another, then another until he was standing right behind Dream's head, just out of view.

Rigorous training told Dream someone had been in his vicinity for a long time, so he was not surprised when he felt the presence of someone directly behind him.

On any other day, Dream would have already had his sword pressed up against the person's throat, but what was even the point? Maybe his time had finally come to die. He knew he deserved it.

"Hello Dream," Sapnap said with hesitancy. 

Dream quickly boosted himself to sitting, his mask almost getting jostled in the process. He knew that voice. He had heard it every single day for forever. "Sapnap?" He asked in disbelief.

"Hey man. I heard you umm... crying." Sapnap said.

"Uhh... I'm not sure what you are talking about. I was just... thinking about-"

"Are you satisfied by your decision? Do you still think you did the right thing?" Sapnap asked. "Do you know how much you BROKE George? He's been sitting by the waterfall, silent, for the past THREE WEEKS."

Dream did not know this. As he slowly turned his head, and focused his tear-filled gaze on Sapnap, he took a measured breath to attempt to keep his voice from cracking and said "I- I don't care about George."

"Don't give me that crap Dream I don't believe it for a second. George is your whole world. You wouldn't go a DAY without seeing him or talking to him. I know these weeks have been hell for you." Sapnap retorted.

Dream was glad there was a mask covering his entire face, because he cringed at how well his friend knew him. "I just don't know what to do anymore. What is even the point, Sapnap?" Dream exclaimed while throwing up his hands. 

"Dude you've gotta stop asking yourself that. You can still fix this," Sapnap said. "And I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it's not over yet."

"Not cool Sap. You can't give me false hope like that," Dream said.

"Umm I'm not joking. George has been crying on my shoulder for weeks. He thinks it's his fault."

He's not mad at you." Sapnap says.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George discovers something that breaks his heart even further.

Back at Mexican L'Manburg, George was unaware that Sapnap was telling Dream about how broken he was. But, to be fair, George was pretty much unaware of everything except his usual spot by the waterfall.

All of a sudden, he got a sudden burst of energy. He decided he was going to go for a walk. Maybe he would see some of his friends on the way! But not Dream... no. He wasn't going just for a chance to see him... at least that is what he was telling himself.

He got down from Mexican L'manburg, and began walking with no particular destination in mind.

After about 10 minutes, he heard some commotion coming from behind him. At the last possible second he dove behind a bush.

Maybe he didn't want to see his former friends after all.

He peeked out from the bush and saw Karl walking with Quackity.

The two were laughing and joking around, but they were just out of earshot, so George couldn't hear the two. He knew that Quackity must have said something funny though because he could see Karl's shoulder's shaking with laughter.

All of a sudden, Quackity pulled Karl into a hug.

Karl didn't miss a single beat and slid his arms around Quackity's neck, settling his head on his shoulder with a satisfied smile.

George couldn't help but feel a pang of longing, though he couldn't figure out why.

As he kept walking, he began to hear voices, and one sounded painfully familiar.

He immediately veered off the path into the forest, thick with trees. 

After blindly following the sound of the voices, he finally saw a clearing.

In that clearing, there sat a bench underneath a tall oak tree atop the edge of a tall hill.

The sun was perfectly coming down through the leaves, and there was a babbling brook near the bench.

The most stunning part of this area was the view. 

There was a perfect view of Mexican L'Manburg, complete with the waterfall George had sat by for many, many hours.

Geroge would have thought the whole area and view were so serene, had he not seen what he was seeing.

Fundy was sitting on the bench with his arm around none other than his former best friend, Dream.

Dream's head was in his hands, and... was he crying? His shoulders were softly shaking around Fundys arm. 

George couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was frozen in shock, completely out in the open, peeking out from behind a large spruce tree.

Suddenly, George could see Fundy's nose twitch, as his head snapped up.

George's widened eyes were met with the glare of Fundy.

He had never seen anything more clear, then the message Fundy was sending him. 

Back. Off.

George held back a tear, as he turned and ran from the scene.

~

Fundy had sensed George arrive with his senses. Since he was a fox, stuff like that came easily to him.

He did not want George here.

George had his chance with Dream.

It was time for Fundy to have his.

Now Fundy was all that was left to pick up the broken pieces of Dream, and he didn't mind one bit.

When he heard someone crash through the foliage, his guard was immediately put up.

He jerked his head in the direction of the noise and was met with the widened eyes of George.

He focused as much rage as he could into his glare, and stared him right down. 

Soon enough, as he thought, George ran away. 

He was such a coward.

"Fundy? Was someone just here? Was it George?" Dream asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

"No Dream," Fundy lied. "You know George doesn't care about you anymore. And you shouldn't care about him. You are better off without him. With me instead of him."

Dream heaved a sigh while swiping away at tears, and muttered "I guess."

Fundy sneered.

"I'll be right back Dream..." Fundy said with the tiniest hint of malice in his voice that he knew Dream wouldn't hear. "I have to... take care of something."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has a fight with Fundy and gets put into a sticky situation.

George wanted to be sick.

How could Dream be with FUNDY?

Oh gosh. He had made a terrible mistake.

He stumbled to a stop, leaning against a spruce tree, gasping for breath.

All of a sudden, he heard something in the distance...

He held his breath as he listened for the sound again.

When no sound came, he went back to taking deep gulps of air.

All of a sudden, he felt claws sink into his back as he was tackled to the ground.

"Wha-" George started

"You better not even think of screaming. I will slit your throat and watch you die right here if you even try. Now listen. Dream doesn't want anything to do with you. He never wants to see you. He never wants to talk to you. He never wants to touch you. He wants nothing. To. Do. With. You." Someone growled.

"Fundy?" George wheezed. He was too surprised to be hurt by Fundy's razor-sharp talons.

"Doesn't matter who I am gOgY," Fundy mocked. "Just know you are on VERY dangerous territory. Do not EVER step within sight of Dream ever aga-"

George tucked his chin to his neck, and snapped his head back right into the jaw of his aggressor. Fundy howled in pain and released his claws just enough for George to quickly stumble up and run away.

Fundy cursed, and lept after the slow boy, knowing he would catch up.

George ran through the braches, cutting up his face and tearing at his clothes.

Somehow his glasses were still on his forehead, thank the lord.

He breaks out of the forest, and runs in a random direction.

In the distance, he can see large blood-red roots growing. (Yes I know George is colorblind, but let us pretend he is not, kay? :D <3 ) 

He doesn't know why, but he feels this... pull?... toward the roots.

He begins running towards them.

But Fundy had advanced on him too fast. 

He grabbed George by the back of the neck and turned him to face him. 

Fundy laughs evilly as he says "aww good try George, but not good enough. You are going somewhere that nobody will ever find you."

Fundy drags George by the back of the shirt toward the menacing-looking roots.

As he reaches them, he grabs the goggles he knows are so precious to George, and throws them off to the side. 

"No!" George yells. "Fundy please stop. What you are doing is WRONG!" 

"Too late Georgy-worgy!" Fundy's canine teeth practically gleam with razor sharpness as he sneers. "Have a nice trip!"

And with that, Fundy tosses George into the abyss that is the jumble of the red roots, as they immediately constrict over the large hole, there just moments before.

~

DISCLAIMER: I love Fundy so much, I am just using his character as the villain arc! No disrespect toward him at all! His streams are so pog and he is super chill!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George arrives in a strange new world.

As George feels himself falling, he knows he's a goner.

The wind rushes past his body as he falls.

He desperately reaches out for vines or anything he could catch himself on.

The last thing he remembers before blacking out is thinking about how this may be for the best anyway.

~

"Well, he fell ONE HUNDRED FEET Techno how could he be ok? He must be dead."

"Look I don't know how it's possible either, but he is still breathing as we speak. Look."

George could hear two people speaking as he came into consciousness.

Techno?

What was he doing wherever the heck George was?

And was the other voice... Wilbur?

He was supposed to have died a long time ago...

George can hear someone step closer to him, and feels a hand placed lightly to his pulse.

"You're right. I just can't believe it. How did he even get IN here? I thought we fixed all the breaches." Wilbur said with worry.

"Tommy must not be checking on the vines like you told him to. This wasn't supposed to happen. Why didn't you do better Wilbur? This was your job." Techno shouted.

"Well at least you are still alive!" Wilbur yelled back. "You are the only one out of the two of us! I can still talk to Tommy, but you are a living, breathing person who needs to have shown him what to do."

"Wilbur you need to accept the fact that you messed up. You've been trying to visit too many people since you've been turned into a ghost. You're spreading yourself too thin." Techno harshly asserted.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Wilbur said with a sigh. "I just miss knowing what it was like to be alive, you know? I can't be there with any of my friends anymore. Not like I used to."

"I know it's hard but-" Techno stops as he sees that George's breathing has switched to more shallow breaths. He must have been awake.

Techno walks over to George and pokes him in the arm with his sword. 

"George we know you're awake. Get up." Techno prods.

Knowing Techno has a sword, George slowly opens his eyes.

He was in a... base of some kind? The walls and ceiling are made up of stone bricks, and the floor is concrete.

There were no windows in this room, and it was quite cramped, barely fitting the cracked wooden chair that Wilbur is sitting on, and the cot George was lying on.

The cot had a bit of a stain, and seemed to be pretty worn and tattered.

George had a LOT of questions, but the most prominent one was: where was he?

Are you hurt?" Wilbur asks.

"I don't think I'm hurt, but I might be?" George tries to sit up, and immediately feels a spike of pain in his leg. "Oh ouch. Yeah, my left leg hurts a lot. Fundy also cut me up a lot with his claws"

Techno bends down to observe George's leg.

"Astounding... it's broken, but other than that and some claw marks, that's the only injury you sustained. How? There's no way you should even be alive..." 

"Just... would somebody tell me where I am, PLEASE?" George shouted angrily.

"You are in a bad place George. I'm not sure how you got here, or how we are going to get you out. You fell 100 feet down into... essentially hell." Wilbur said.

"Welcome to Apparition."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George begins to learn about the very complicated city called Apparition.

Apparition...

What the heck was that? 

"Wait, wait, wait... so you mean to tell me that I feel 100 feet through a hole in some roots to a place called... Apparition? Oh geez I must've hit my head or something," George says.

"Uhhh no George you didn't," Techno says. "We feared someone else would find this place at some point, we just didn't anticipate it happening this soon. We aren't ready..."

"Well that's great. Just perfect. I am having the most fabulous couple of weeks," George says sarcastically. "First I get dethroned by my best friend, second I discover that same best friend is with FUNDY of all people, third I get attacked by Fundy, and the ICING on the cake is getting thrown down a HOLE IN A BUNCH OF ROOTS. Nope... this day cannot get any worse can it?"

The two other boys are silent. They don't know quite what to say.

"You know George, you're quite lucky... at least you weren't killed like I was. I hate being a ghost. I can't interact the same way with everyone quite like I used to... and I have almost no memories. It's kind of the worst," Wilbur says sadly.

"Well, I feel like I'm dead. I'm not interacting with anyone at all. Dream hates me and- OUCH!" George yelps in pain as Techno sets his leg back into place. "Sapnap and Quackity have given up on me, which I understand why, and the rest of the SMP hated me as King anyway. I'm not sure anyone will even know that I'm gone." George said with a bit of a crack in his voice while Techno applies medicine and bandages to the places where Fundy cut him.

"I'm sorry George. That sounds really hard," Wilbur says. "But why do you think Dream hates you? I know he removed you from the throne, but it was to protect you. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Dream has confided in me quite a bit lately, and he... nevermind. Just know he doesn't hate you, I promise."

Geroge sighs, not sure he believes what Wilbur is saying.

"You know George, why don't we give you a tour around Apparition? I'm done fixing you up. I think you'll be quite... interested to see what kind of land we are running here," Techno changes the topic. "Follow me please."

With a sweep of his cape, Techno begins his swift, confident walk out of the room, and George has no choice to follow.

He thought his leg would hurt to walk on, but it was surprisingly painless.

George trots after Techno, with Wilbur bringing up the rear. 

They wind down dark hallways with flickering light bulbs, until they come to a metal door.

"Our first stop is the armory," Techno says. "You're gonna want sword at least... just... trust me on that one..." 

This worries George a little bit, but he doesn't think too much about it as he grabs a sword off the wall. He also grabs a backpack that he stuffs with arrows and a canister of water, as well as a bow that he straps to his back.

"Make sure you grab a mask and some goggles too, George. The dust and sand from the ground can blow all over the place at times, and it will get in your eyes and mouth if you aren't careful." Techno warns.

"Ok...." George responds with more and more worry as he grabs a worn dark blue fabric mask, and some goggles that are worn as well.

The goggles are miles worse than his own goggles, but Fundy ripped those off of him...

They exit the room and come to a stop in front of the gigantic vault door on what George assumes is the front of the base.

"You ready?" Techno asks as he pulls up his mask.

"As I'll ever be," George responds.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George explores a section of Apparition called "The Hub" and gets to choose his own horse.

Techno nods to Wilbur, who presses the button to release the vault-like door.

There is a loud squeal, then the door begins to slide open, gears grinding together.

Almost instantly, brown and red dirt push their way angrily into the shelter, and George is thankful for his mask, though he still has to clear his throat.

Techno notices George's cough. "Yeah, the dust is a bit of an adjustment. You'll be ok after about 2 hours though," he reassures George. 

They step out of the shelter, and the door slides closed behind them with a heavy clank.

The first thing George notices is the blood-red sky. It's the same color as the roots.

The sun, he assumes, is the same color as normal. 

There are buildings not too far off into the distance. Really tall buildings at that. Everything is in ruin.

It was really hot.

"Well, welcome to The Hub, I guess," Techno says. "Come."

As they walk along a cobblestone path of sorts toward a stable built out of wood, Techno begins to shout over the wind.

"We found Apparition a long time ago. There used to be some sort of city here. Over time, we have built a sub-kingdom underneath L'Manburg. We use almost all the buildings that were here when we found this place, though they are all in ruins. We don't have a lot of modes of transport, but we do have horses. We don't know how, but they have all developed immunity against the harsh elements," Techno explains.

"You'll find our stable to be one of the newer additions. We built it ourselves with the help of Awesamdude. You won't find much nature out here. Nothing can really handle the elements. There are some reservoirs around if you ever get in a pinch with no water. The city section is about 5 minutes away from the base on horseback," Wilbur takes over. 

"You'll find a majority of supplies with the rest of our small population in Centre, but coming back to The Hub is pretty important. You'll need to do a couple of small jobs for us, as our staff has been getting ki-... sssssmaller," Wilbur trails off a bit.

Oh. Smaller staff? That couldn't have been good...

George's day was just getting better and better...

They arrive at the stable, and Techno tells George he can pick out his horse.

George looks upon all of the steeds. There is a white one, a black one, a grey speckled one, and a black and white spotted one. 

He walks along the line of stables and holds his hand out to pet the speckled grey horse that had immediately drawn his eye. 

He was a very tall horse and looked very strong, almost having a regal look to him.

When George finally touched the horse, he felt an almost instantaneous bond form. 

The horse immediately takes a liking to George and nuzzles against his hand. 

"I quite like this horse," George says timidly.

Techno and Wilbur share a look.

"Are you sure? He hasn't been very good with people... his last owner was... well that's a story for another time isn't it?" Wilbur says brightly. "Of course you can have him! His name is Caballero. He has been known to be a little bit feisty. If he trusts you though, you've got a horse that will be loyal to you until his last breath. He... reminds me of someone very close to you, so I'm not surprised you picked him."

George didn't know what that meant, but he chose not to acknowledge it, saving his one of many questions for later. 

"Hey Roe," George says, immediately making up a nickname. "It's you and me now buddy. What do you think about that?" 

Roe snorts and George swears he nods.

"Well, I think you two will get along quite well. Let's all prepare to ride. Our next stop is 'Centre'," Techno declares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooh you catch that name easter egg...? 0.0
> 
> Caballero is Spanish for Knight... wonder who else on the SMP was a Knight... hmmmmm... :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George rides to "Centre", and learns about the communication method in Apparition.

After George puts on all the normal tack, he adds on a large saddlebag on the left side of the saddle.

"You'll need to use that saddlebag quite a bit, George. It holds a lead so you can tie up Roe when you need to stop somewhere, and it also holds the ropes and equipment to attach just about anything onto his back. There is plenty of room left to put other things in there as well. You have your bedroll attached just behind your saddle." Wilbur says while tacking up his horse, Blaire.

"You'll have to gather resources for us from time to time, but there isn't much out here so you shouldn't worry too much about that. For now, we will give you jobs where you just have to go around Centre, our city section," Techno says. "All right. Let's mount up and move along. There is a place for you to put your sword, George. Right by your saddlebag."

George finds it, slips in the sword and secures it, and mounts Roe. He also notices the extra notch for his bow, which he uses.

Techno walks his horse, Dusk, up next to George, and hands George a tiny earbud-looking piece.

"We made these earpieces a long time ago. They help us stay connected and communicating. They work very similar to walk-e-talkies. The device picks up when you talk, and then when someone else talks to you, it'll just come through." Techno explains to George. "It's very important you keep this in. It's in range of Centre, The Hub, and a few other places you'll need to go. You better not take it out, at least for now. You are going to go out on your own eventually, and you are expected to always answer us back as soon as you can."

"This is the one piece of highly advanced technology we own. You'll never need to charge this either, as it is solar-powered. The moulding adjusts to fit your ear as soon as you put it in. You'll still be able to hear the outside sounds just fine too, but the volume adjusts whenever someone is talking to you," Wilbur says. "We've combat-tested these, and it's really hard for them to fall out, so you don't have to worry about that. We will teach you more about some of the cooler features of these later. Ok, Techno! We're ready!"

Techno clicks his tongue, and his horse, Dusk, leads the way, followed by George and Roe, and Wilbur and Blaire bring up the rear.

George quickly adjusts to being in a saddle and controlling Roe. It's as if he is an extension of himself, and he feels a spark of something similar to recognition with Roe, but he doesn't know what it may mean.

They ease their horses into a gallop and head toward Centre.

"How is the earbud working out Georgy?" George hears Wilbur's voice in his ear.

"Oh my gosh Wilbur, your voice sounds so clear- wait... did you just call me 'Georgy'? Whatever. This is amazing, though how did you guys come up with this?!" George asks in wonder.

Wilbur chuckles. "Well, it would take too long to explain. Techno can hear us too."

"Hey," Techno replies.

"You can mute yourself by holding down on the earbud. Go ahead and test it," Wilbur tells George.

George does, and the test is successful.

"Awesome! Oh, we're arriving!" Wilbur exclaims.

"Centre."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, Sapnap, and Quackity devise a plan when they learn about George going missing.

~DREAM SMP~

Fundy walks away from the now-covered hole that he just threw George in.

"Ahh what a poetic death. I could almost just cry!" Fundy sarcastically mourns.

He prances back to Dream, who is still waiting on him. 

"Fundy! Where did you go?" Dream asks, concern filling his voice.

"Oh don't worry about it Dreamie. Just had to take care of... something. He won't be bothering us anymore," Fundy says.

But Dream hears Fundy's mistake.

He said 'he', not it.

"Uhh yeah ok sure Fundy. Thanks for being there for me today. I'll see you later," Dream says distantly, already on his way out of the forest.

For some reason, Dream has a very bad feeling about the 'he' that Fundy was accidentally talking about.

He exited the forest, and immediately started on his way to Mexican L'manburg.

When he gets there, he hesitates momentarily.

Is he even allowed to go up there...?

No. 

He has to do this.

No turning back. 

When he gets to the top, he shouts for Sapnap and Quackity.

They both appear with confused looks on their faces.

"Dream? What are you doing here?" Sapnap asks at the same time that Quackity tells Dream that he isn't welcome there.

"I know guys, I know. I messed up, but that's a talk for another time. There is a more important matter at hand. You both know I wouldn't come up here unless it was really important. Does either of you know where George is? I just have this feeling-... anyways you know where he is?" Dream asking, trying not to sound desperate and worried, although he is.

"Umm I haven't seen him in a couple of hours..." Sapnap says. "Why? Did something happen to him? Is he ok?"

"Dream did you do something to him?" Quackity asks, voice full of venom.

"No, no of course not Quackity. I lo- nevermind... I think someone did do something to him though," Dream says. "I don't know what, but I do know who. Fundy."

Both boys question how Dream came to this conclusion.

"I was telling Fundy... some things, and I think I may have heard someone walk up behind us, now that I really think about it. I didn't at the time, though, but I think Fundy did. He told me he had to take care of something, and ran off. He didn't come back for like 10 minutes," Dream mumbles.

"Well, what if we go back to the place you guys were, and retract Fundy's tracks?" Quackity proposes.

They all agree this is a good idea, and go back to the forest. They get about halfway deep, and Dream sees something that increases his worry even more. "Hey umm, guys? I think I see something," Dream says, voice shaking.

They both run towards him, and look where Dream is pointing.

"Is that... blood?" Sapnap asks, concerned. 

"I- I think so..." Dream manages, with wide, fearful eyes. 

"Look. Fundy's tracks," Quackity points.

They begin to track Fundy, all the way to some red roots. 

"What in the-. What is this?" Quackity asks. "How did we not ever notice this before?"

But Dream's blood instantly turns to ice, for he did know what this was. 

"Oh god," Dream whispers.

He begins frantically searching around for anything that will confirm his worst nightmare has come true.

Then, he finds it.

George's favorite goggles, stained with blood.

Dream picks up the goggles, and his hand goes to his mouth, covered by the ceramic mask. 

"No. No. No no no no no no. This can't be happening oh no." Dream panics.

Sapnap and George see the goggles, covered in blood.

"This can't be happening," Quackity mutters.

"Wait... he's not DEAD is he?" Sapnap gasps.

"Worse," Dream says gravely.

He looks to the red roots.

"I can't tell you guys what happened to George, and you have no reason to trust me, but I am the only one who can save him now. I need you both to go back to Mexican L'Manburg and just... get all the weapons you can ok? We are going to need them..."

Sapnap doesn't know why, but he can tell Dream is being serious, and this may be more grave then he knows.

"I don't like knowing that I can't do anything to help, but I do trust you Dream," Sapnap reassures Dream, clapping his shoulder. 

"I second that. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, but I do trust you with this situation. Sapnap and I will keep working on our land, and gather weapons." Quackity promises. "I think it's time for a new name... El Rapids. We need to keep an element of mystery just to us. Nobody can know we changed the name. It'll be like a codeword. I also think we should recruit Karl."

Dream and Sapnap both agree this is a good idea, then with one last look of understanding and not-quite trust, but close, between the three, Sapnap and Quackity hurry off.

Dream turns and stares at the roots.

He takes one last look at George's goggles before he wipes them clean and puts them on his head.

"I'll find you George."

"I promise." Dream draws his sword, razor-sharp.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George begins training with Techno.

~Apparition~

The three had arrived in Centre.

"Now George, Wilbur, and I have a lot to train and tell you. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you have to stick with it. You'll need this training eventually... It is crucial you pay attention, and learn as much as you can," Techno lectures.

"We will spread everything out as much as we can, George, but I fear we don't have much time. It's only a matter of time before he finds out..." Wilbur trails off.

"Wait... who's 'he'," George says with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh never-you-mind. We have training to do," Techno says.

They urge their horses forward, and the hoofs click on the cobblestone, like a clock... ticking as time is lost.

~

A couple minutes ago, Wilbur broke off from the group, heading towards a different part of Centre claiming he needed to prepare for another section of training.

"Ok George, I am going to train you in combat. I haven't done this in a long time, but our other trainer... well he doesn't come here anymore. He was... the best of the best. But I am undoubtedly the other most qualified person to teach you," Techno explains.

They end up in a field, just in the outskirts of Centre. 

There is a makeshift ring, targets, and a rack of more weapons than George had ever seen.

Sheilds, bows, arrows, swords, knives, daggers, axes, and tridents were among the setup.

Techno selected a sword, dagger, and an axe, and handed them to George.

"You'll have to carry a lot of weapons out here, but Roe can carry almost all of them. It is crucial that you always have at least one of them within reach at all times, but preferably you have them all. All you need to always have is an axe, sword, and dagger. You should have no problem carrying these on your person," Techno lectures.

He walks over to the other side of the ring and grabs armour. "You'll need this too," he says as he throws the heavy, semi-rusted armor in the direction of George.

George puts it on as Techno does the same.

Then, he turns to George and casts off his cape, hanging it on the Armour stand.

Looking straight at George, he beckons him, "Show me what you've got."

George is a little unsure, but he advances on Techno, pulling out his sword. He immediately stabs for his stomach, but Techno parries the block with ease.

George goes back in and tries to sweep Techno's feet out from under him to no avail. 

He stabs over and over in Techno's direction, but almost nothing lands.

Finally, George is able to get the upper hand and would have sliced across Techno's stomach had it not been for the armor.

"Not bad. We still have a lot of work to do though," Techno praises."I want you back here every day at 5 a.m. on the DOT. Do not be late George," Techno says.

George groans.

5 a.m.?!? That's so early...

He agrees though and listens to Techno's instructions on how to find Wilbur.

"Don't forget, you can use your earpiece to talk to him if you get lost."

"Sure thing Techno. Thanks for today," George says to Techno as he mounts Roe.

"Don't ever thank me again George I don't need your fake appreciation," Techno says harshly.

Geez, ok then.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has a flashback to a very happy memory, however, now it just reminds him of what he lost.

Beneath George, Roe is keeping a steady pace.

They are on their way to Centre to start training with Wilbur.

The sun is beginning to set, and the blood-red sky begins to mix with blue, the one color George can actually see without the help of his goggles. It's beautiful, compared to all the dull, colorless terrain.

"Look at that Roe," George comments. "How can this place be so beautiful? I mean I've only been here for one day, and even though it's basically hell, there is still some mystifying things about it."

"Now that I think about it, it's sort of comforting talking to you. You don't say much do you?" George chuckles at his lame attempt at a joke.

Roe whinnies softly as if to chuckle at George's joke.

"You're not bad company, are you Roe? I wonder who you're owner used to be... I can't help but feel a connection to you. You remind me of someone, you know?"

Roe nickers, urging George to continue.

"You remind me of Dream. You probably don't know who that is. Dream is my best friend. Well, was anyway... He doesn't care about me anymore," George says, emotion filling his voice.

"I miss him so much Roe. I can't keep going on without him. He was with FUNDY earlier today, who also tried to kill me, so that's just perfect, isn't it?" George sighs. "I just wish I would have never even had the stupid throne in the first place. I just want my best friend back."

Roe neighs in understanding.

George sniffs, holding back tears. He wishes he had his old goggles.

They had been a gift from none-other than Dream.

Dream had modeled them after his original clout goggles, and they were the exact same, except Dream's version had color-blind lenses that allowed George to see colors.

It was the best present George had ever received.

He remembers the day they were given to him like yesterday...

*FLASHBACK*

"Alrighty George! Turn around now!" Dream said, bouncing up and down with excitement.

George turned to see Dream standing in front of balloons, and a banner saying happy birthday. He had on one of those cheap party hats and was holding a smallish box with blue paper. 

"Happy Birthday George!" Dream says excitedly. "You are getting so old now holy crap. You need to stop aging you grandpa! Anyways I made you a card."

Dream shyly hands George a card he wrote to him, as George beams from ear to ear. 

George,  
I can't believe we've been friends for this long! Every day I continue to spend with you just gets better and better. I cannot tell you enough how much you have done for me. You mean so much to me. I can't wait to continue to be your best friend, and I am honored that you are still friends with me all these years.   
Thanks for all the late-night chats, resource gathering talks, and sharing your stories with me. I will always have a special place in my heart reserved for only you. I'm not super great at putting things into words, but basically, you're amazing. You truly are what makes me happy every day, and you always will be.  
I love you man,   
Green Boi

As George reads the card, tears well up in his eyes. 

This was the nicest thing he had ever received in his life.

His bottom lip trembles as he looks up to Dream, tears pouring down his face, and he throws his arms around Dream's neck in a tight embrace.

Dream gasps and blushes a bit behind his mask, snaking his arms around George's waist, holding the smaller boy just as tightly. "I'm sorry, the card was probably bad... I'm not super great at talking about feelings and crap..."

George pulls back just a little bit, still holding tightly on to Dream, as he puts his hand over where Dream's mouth would be if he didn't have his mask on. "Dream you idiot. The card was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you for my present," George smiles cutely.

Dream has always loved that little grin.

"Oh! I almost forgot George," Dream exclaims, breaking the embrace reluctantly. "I have one more thing for you!"

"Something else? The card was MORE than enough Dream!" George exclaims with delight as Dream hands him the present wrapped in blue- George's favorite color.

"Well I mean I can just take it back then..." Dream teases as he pulls back on the gift.

"Give me the present, idiot," George teases good-naturedly while giving Dream a playful shove.

George quickly rips off the paper and opens the box.

Inside are his clout goggles.

"Dream I don't get it. I already have these!" George says in confusion.

"No no George, you don't understand. These are colorblind goggles," Dream chuckles softly. "Here."

Dream takes the goggles and slips them on to George's forehead, hands brushing and lingering over George's cheeks as he forces himself to take his hands back.

George's ears turn red as he mumbles and looks down.

"Well, put them on George! I'll be the first thing you see!" Dream excitedly shouts.

"O-okay sure," George slips them on over his eyes, immediately widening.

"Dream! You look... darker! You're actually GREEN!" George exclaims. He looks around the outside of L'Manburg where they were standing. OOH! Look at the flower Dream!"

George bounds over to a yellow flower. "Wait, Dream! Come stand next to the flower! Wait so you're green, and this flower is yellow... wait. No WAY." George shifts between taking the goggles off and putting them back on, admiring the difference in color between green and yellow, which he had never seen before.

Dream walks away to place down some wool, glad his mask is covering his face because he is beginning to tear up a little bit.

"Wait, come back. come back, come back, come back, come back!" George shouts.

Dream wheezes "You're so cu-," stopping himself and continuing to laugh, blushing under his mask.

Dream picks the yellow flower and walks very close to George, placing the flower behind his ear.

George is so close to Dream. He could just raise up on his tip-toes and... 

Nope. 

No George not time for those thoughts.

He shyly looks down. "Thank you Dream," George exhales with a soft smile on his face.

Dreams fingers trace lightly from behind George's ear, across his cheek, to his chin, which he tilts up to force George to look at him.

"One day, I'll take off my mask for you George. Not right now though... I'm just no match for you're attractiveness!" Dream jokes.

However, George can hear the hint of self-consciousness to Dream's joke.

"It's ok Dream I understand," George says and pulls Dream back into a hug.

BACK TO PRESENT

A single tear slips down George's face as he is pulled abruptly back into the present.

He quickly swipes at it, as they have arrived at the next training.

Survival.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George learns about his daily chores, as well as getting a new wardrobe and learning about the harsh weather.

George slows Roe to a stop in front of a large greenhouse where Wilbur is waiting outside.

"Hello George! How was combat?" Wilbur asks cheerfully, pushing open the doors and beckoning George inside.

"Oh, it was pretty good. Really hard. Techno still thinks I have a lot to learn, but I did get the upper hand on him once! To be honest I'm pretty sure he went easy on me. All he did was parry my attacks, not attack back," George explains. "I'm a little bit scared of what might happen when he decides to fight back..."

Wilbur chuckles warmly, pulling down his mask now that they were protected from the elements. "You'll be ok. Techno acts like he is so tough, but he's a big softie when you get to know him."

George pulls off his mask and goggles, at sets them on a shelf near the door.

There is a wide expanse of plots, each housing a different kind of food source.

George could see potatoes, carrots, melons, and lots and lots of wheat.

"Ok George. For the first couple of days, one of your rounds will be tending the gardens. We have a misting system, so you'll need to check and make sure that is working on the schedule, and you'll need to come and cut the wheat. There will be a few of our specialists in and out doing everything else, but the wheat is really easy. Just come cut it off, and then someone will be behind you to replant." Wilbur explains.

George is taking mental notes on all the things he needs to do when a girl starts to approach them.

She has a dress made of all different types of cloth sewn together, and she has beautiful light blonde hair with a bit of a curl to it.

"Hey there Will! I finished with the animals, and I found a stray fox to be taken in as well!" she says happily.

"Awesome Niki! You've been doing great work lately," Wilbur says, giving her a smile. "Keep it up!"

She thanks him, and continues on her way, humming a tune to a song George doesn't know.

"Anyways, baskets for the wheat are over there," Wilbur says, pointing to the opposite wall. "When you've filled one up, take it over to Niki at the counter and she will give you a stamp. I'm not sure if Techno told you, but we use stamps as ration counters. You won't really have to worry about that, since you're with Techno and I, but if you are ever without us, you can use your ration stamps. In one of the food stalls."

"Let me take you to get some new clothes. You'll need something other than what you are wearing, for sure," Wilbur suggested.

George looked down at his sports shorts and merch hoodie, agreeing that he probably needed an update due to the harsh elements, and the sand had been getting EVERYwhere.

When they got to the closet, George stepped in and picked out the pair of tan pants with the least amount of holes in it, and grabs a sort of tattered flannel to put on over his hoodie.

"You'll keep your mask and goggles, obviously. The pants and flannel should keep you protected from the sun for the most part," Wilbur says.

"Let's go through here, to the lab. I want to show you how to deal with some of the... toxic... weather cycles we go through... you also have to learn how to deal with the night predators..." Wilbur says.

Yup... George's day is really just fabulously pogchamp.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George learns about some of the more dangerous things in Apparition.

When they reach the lab, George is seriously impressed. 

The lab is two stories, but the center is carved out, making the second story look down into the lab. 

The first floor is obviously the lab portion, made up of white concrete. There are lab tables all in the middle, and counters of expensive-looking tech at the back. There is also a winding staircase that is now run down, but George can tell it used to be a beautiful feature.

The second thing he notices is the floor-to-ceiling window at the front.

There is a massive telescope at the base of the window.

Wilbur notices George looking quizzically at the telescope and says, "We aren't really sure how the telescope works, seeing as we are underground from L'Manburg... the sky and solar system works really weird down here, but the telescope does work."

"How strange. So anyway, tell me about these night mobs," George plunks down on one of the lab benches.

"So I'm going to be completely honest with you, you do not want to be out at night. There is some... bad stuff that happens out here. Lots of predators that you wouldn't normally see on the regular SMP," Wilbur winces.

"Oh umm... like what kind of predators?" George asks with concern.

"Well, we've got Dusk Crawlers, which are basically gigantic spiders... you don't want to mess with those. We've also got Cursed, which are basically zombies, but they are..." Wilbur shivers. "very much different. You'll know them when you see them. Those are our two biggest issues. They don't typically come around camp, but if you go out for one of your missions and get caught out too late at night, you'll be done for."

George throws up his hands. "Well, THAT'S just perfect. I just LOVE being in constant danger. Sounds like this place is real forgiving." George says sarcastically while plunking down on one of the benches in the lab.

"Yeah, and you're such a CUTE little size aren't you Gogy? So tiny!" Wilbur says while trying to pinch George's cheeks.

"Stoppppp Wilbur," George complains leaning away, pouting with his arms crossed. 

Wilbur chuckles. "So, your earpiece. You can play any sort of music you want through it! It took a lot of advanced coding. All you have to do is think about the song you want to be played. You can also start humming the melody, and there you go! You've got the song! You can also talk to just one person by imagining their name in your head. Works the same way with multiple people, as long as they all have their earpiece in," Wilbur says.

"So see, right now I am talking just to you. Techno can't hear us on the other line." Wilbur says via earpiece.

"Wow Wilbur. This is super impressive. Who coded all this?" George asks.

"That's... hard to explain. Better save that for another time," Wilbur deflects the question.

All of a sudden, George sees Wilburs forehead crease with concern, as he presses two fingers to his earpiece. He looks up to George.

"We've got a problem. Someone is here."


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur, Techno, and George all go on a trip to "Inferno" the opposing city of Apparition to save a certain someone.

Dream groans in pain, and slowly opens his eyes.

He is tied up in a kneeling position in some kind of stone cell.

His hands are cuffed behind his back, and his head is pounding.

"Oh god..." Dream groans in pain, black spots dancing across his vision as he tried to lift up his head and look around. "Where am I?"

Years and years of training tells Dream that he needs to get out of this cell. He doesn't know how long he has been there. 

He tries to stand and realizes that the cuffs are preventing him from doing anything.

He will just have to wait for the person who put him in there, but who...?

~

Wilbur turns and runs out of the lab, Geroge at his heels, meeting up with Techno, who already has the horses ready.

"What happened?" Wilbur yells through the earpiece as they are mounting up. 

"I don't know. He didn't give me any details. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, much less bring anyone with me..." Techno shouts back, leading the way towards an area that George hadn't gone yet. "We are going to have to figure how how to sneak you guys in."

"Guys, WHO are you talking about? What is happening?" George yells, very confused. 

"So umm George basically when the election happened, and Tubbo was declared President, there were a few members that were... not happy to say the least. Apparition is only a sub-section of a larger dictatorship, much like L'Manburg was of the Dream SMP," Techno explains. 

"Wait... but I thought you two ran the whole thing?" George yells over the wind.

"No. Someone very... bad took it over. He lives in the Royal district, Inferno, with some other very bad people. They've created these things we call Autotrons to do their bidding. The Autotrons haven't given us that many issues, but every once in a while we have to send out an executive team to take them down when they come too close to our borders. We haven't had that happen since our lead assassin left. When he did, it upset the balance between Apparition and Inferno. He chose Techno as the one to rule over Apparition, so Techno can choose a team." Wilbur says.

"Though we are technically the same place, Apparition has been pulling away from Inferno for a while now. We are basically our own area, and Inferno is it's own. We have the actual villagers, and all Inferno has is its dictator, knights, and a boatload of Autotrons." Techno says. "As you most likely know by now, Wilbur is my co-leader. He doesn't really know that, though..."

"Ok ok ok wait wait wait..." George stops them. "WHO is this he? You still haven't told me!"

"George. Inferno is run by Schlatt." Wilbur says. "After he was banned from the SMP, he found his way down here and built an empire. He tricked Lazar and Vik into being his knights when they joined the server. They don't know any better, unfortunately."

"Wait so you are telling me Schlatt isn't DEAD? Oh my gosh," George exclaims. "So do you have any knights, Techno? I mean I feel like you are going to need one to help you take Schlatt down" George asks.

George sees Techno sit up straighter on his horse. "I used to. One of the best. But we got into a disagreement... I haven't seen him in a while now. Anyone can come from the SMP into Apparition, and vice versa, but there is an Autotron posted at every entrance to monitor who is coming and going. It is really hard to find one of those entrances by accident too. We have lots of safety precautions so the wrong people don't wander in here," Techno says. "And we aren't fighting Schlatt any time soon. It took ages for him to trust me, and I think it's pretty obvious that I'm betraying him. I had to attack you that one time because Schlatt was questioning my loyalty. It was the only way."

George believed him. Techno had been a big help so far, so he saw no reason to hold it against him.

They had been galloping for a while now, and George could see the walls marking the barriers of what must have been the edge of Apparition.

As they approach, soldiers open the large gates for them, and they gallop through.

"I'm surprised you didn't question Niki earlier, George. But yeah, that's how she gets into the SMP too. Anyone can just come and go if they know how to get in. That's why it's so... surprising to us that an Autotron didn't get to you before we did. You're very lucky we found you when we did," Wilbur says.

As they were riding, the sun begins to set, and the land has less and less life evident.

Here, obliterated structures and scorched dirt are as far as the eye can see.

"Here we are..." Techno says, halting the horses with the boys outside the massive black iron gate, complete with banners, dark as the night, underneath braisers lit with fire. The polished stone of the wall makes the shadows of the fire leap and dance onto the terrain around them, and George can see where the district got its name.

"Inferno."


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three boys come up with a rescue plan.

TW // Blood

As George's gaze settled upon Inferno, the first thing that would have caught anyone's eye was the castle.

With banners orange like fire, and red as blood, the castle carried over the dark theme that the rest of the town had.

It was made of Blackstone, and the braziers, lit with fire, cast eerie shadows through each and every corner. Even the windows were tinted black, as to not throw off the menacing look.

The Autotrons posted outside made the whole place look even more daunting. There was one patrolling every single entrance, and posted at random places around the castle.

Spray painted onto the outer protecting walls of Inferno were the words 'Too late now'.

"Well, this place looks so welcoming!" George said sarcastically with a huff.

Wilbur gave an apologetic smile to George, while Techno explained the plan.

"Ok boys listen up. Wilbur and I will go into Inferno and retrieve the... person. We've got a few other things we need to steal as well. Now, Schlatt doesn't know that anyone has come with me, so it's both of your jobs to stay under the radar. Got it? I don't need the little wuss boy over here screwing up the whole mission. George, you aren't trained in nearly enough combat to come in here," Techno said.

When George started to protest, he held up a hand. "I don't want to hear it, George! You'll mess up the entire mission if you do. Trust me, you're gonna want this person saved, so shut up and deal with it. You'll be ready one day, but that day is not today," Techno stated. 

Wilbur put a reassuring hand on George's shoulder.

"Wilbur is a ghost, so he won't have any issues. We've done this a million times. Everything should go to plan," Techno said with a hint of worry in his voice. "I hope these Autotrons haven't been reprogrammed yet... that new fighting uplink is going to take all of us a while to learn."

All of a sudden, marching can be heard on the cobblestones, metal clanking down.

"Ok here's where we leave you, George. We've gotta be fast; they don't move for very long," Techno climbs the wall, then drops down out of sight.

"Be careful Wilbur. Still not sure why we are here, and who we are trying to rescue, but hopefully all goes well!" George says, still cheerful despite the hardships. 

Wilbur gives him a comforting smile, then leaves the same way Techno does.

George heaves a sigh, not sure what to do now.

He looks around, seeing the spot where they hid the horses, tethered far away behind some tall bushes, out of sight.

Just in front of that, there is something else that catches his eye.

A wooden board, with what looks like several papers on it.

As George gets closer, he realizes it's a message board. There are tons of papers, all with jobs on them, and written responses back to questions.

In the middle though, however, George gets caught up on the only warped and torn paper of the bunch.

It is a Wanted poster, just like from the old cowboy movies he used to watch.

The mugshot of the person is too tattered to decipher, but the name...

Before George can read the name, the sound of a blaring alarm causes him to whip his head back in the direction of the castle.

That cannot be good.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George makes an important decision whilst Wilbur discovers Dream in a horrendous state.

George shifts nervously, back and forth, wondering if he should try and help. 

It had been about ten minutes since the alarm had sounded, and it was still going and there was still no sign of Wilbur or Techno. 

All of a sudden, the top window of the castle broke into a million pieces, and out flew an Autotron. George could see a flash of Techno's pink braid and knew then that they probably had everything under control.

Probably.

However, Techno was making a lot of noise...

What if Schlatt knew that he was in there, and was plotting to kill him?

That's it. 

George ran back to Roe, grabbing his bow, arrows, axe, and sword.

He started sprinting toward the castle at full speed, knowing he would change his mind if he didn't. He got through the first gate, seeing no Autotrons... 

That was slightly concerning...

But George was too busy being afraid to think about how weird that was.

George finally got to the main portion of the castle, where the hallways were so long and dark.

George could barely see.

I mean WHO in their right mind had the castle made this way?

After a few blind turns, he got to a dungeon looking door, which he threw open.

~

Meanwhile, Techno Techno was doing his best to fight off the Autotrons, who weren't even programmed to recognize that Techno was, in theory, on Schlatts side.

Wilbur was below the castle, searching the cells full of decaying people that were, sadly, beyond saving. He had one person in mind though, and wouldn't stop until he found him.

Then, he saw him.

Despite the red and black mixture of dust, the worrying amount of blood, and the fabric being torn all over, the hoodie stood out from about a mile away because of the startling contrast of lime green on the all-black walls of the castle dungeons.

He was slumped on the floor, passed out, hands tied behind him to a metal hook.

Blood was dripping from the bridge of his nose, into the puddle on the floor which was growing by the second.

His pants were torn around his knees, which were also bloody and scraped. 

Yet somehow, though the rest of his body was in... ruin was the only word to describe it, his mask was still in perfect condition, right over his face the proper way.

"Oh god, Dream!" Wilbur shouted, looking around for the keys. "You better not be dead on me buddy. Hang in there. Can you hear me?"

Wilbur found the keys, and ran to unlock the cell.

It took him countless painful tries to finally unlock the cell, and rush in, immediately examining the boy.

"Oh god... Dream? DREAM!" Wilbur shouted, lifting his head, shaking his arm, doing everything he could think of to get the boy awake.

Then, just as he was about to give up hope, he saw a little movement on Dream's right hand, and a whisper so quiet it was barely audible. "Will?" 

"Yes. Yes Dream it's me! I'm here to save you. I'm going to get you out of here ok? Don't worry. Uhhh. This is going to hurt a lot, but I need you to just grit your teeth and bare it. It'll be over soon, and we will be back to Apparition in no time ok?" Wilbur says, trying to be reassuring.

When he sees the tiny head nod, he breaks open Dream's cuffs and picks Dream up as gingerly as he can, putting him over his shoulder.

Dream's entire body exploded with pain, but all he let out was a tiny gasp.

Dream could feel the boy starting to walk, then pick up into a run as they navigated through the castle. 

His last thought before he passed out was that he knew he would be taken care of.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George makes a very surprising discovery.

George threw open the dungeon-like doors and stepped through.

The warning bells in his head immediately began to go off.

This was definitely not the room he wanted to be in.

It was a throne room. Well, if you could call THAT a throne.

It was absolutely gigantic. 

The whole room was open, and somehow impossibly darker than the hallways.

The main throne, presumably for Schaltt, had spikes protruding from the top. 

The fireplace, taking up an entire wall, was also lit with some sort of blue fire.

George's head whipped back to the door when he heard hoofs clopping down the hallway, followed by a voice, insistently demanding something. 

The doors immediately burst open, and there stood Schlatt.

"Listen you absolute idiot. You're here for a reason. Do I need to do what I had you do to my last knight? You know I won't hesitate. This is a simple job. Do. Not. Let. The. Intruders. Get. Out. Of. My. Castle. Clear?" Schlatt said, yelling at... Vikkstar?

Since when had Vikk become a knight to Schlatt?

"Yes sir," he mumbled, turning on his heel and rushing towards the direction of the distant alarm.

Schlatt grumbled something, then shouted for his other knight, who came in at a run.

While Schlatt was yelling at the other knight, George began to think his escape through. 

George had hidden in some sort of... closet? He wasn't sure.

He raised two fingers to his earpiece.

"Guys? Guys I'm... we've got a situation," George whispered.

"WHAT?" Techno yelled. "LITTLE BUSY HERE GEORGE!"

"Uhhh yeah umm I may or may not have come to help you, and am now lost in the castle," George winced as he said it.

"George are you fricking kidding me? WHY? We had a plan set in place! I don't need your help! Get out of the castle, do you hear me? Get out!" Techno screamed.

"Uhh yeah well umm... that's the problem, actually. It's really funny but I am trapped in the throne room... with Schlatt... yelling at one of his knights.... relatively close to where I'm hiding."

"GEORGE YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING," Techno yelled, swearing under his breath which George could very much hear thanks to the advanced audio system. "Just. ARGH GEORGE. Just stay there. I'll be there in a minute you-." the audio cut out, probably for the best...

Minutes later, George heard the doors of the room squeak open, and he peaked out of the keyhole in the closet door.

"My lord," Techno said, bowing down. 

"Techno," Schlatt says with a booming voice. "How are things? Still doing your job as we planned?"

"Yes sir. Apparition will fall eventually. They are weakening by the day. When they are at their worst, I will summon you, sir," Techno says.

"Good. I always had a feeling you would be my best," Schlatt says.

"Sir, I think there is something you should see. It's about the intruders. We still don't know who they are, but I think I've got a lead," Techno says, showing Schlatt out of the throne room. 

George knows that he needs to be prepared to get out of there.

When he hears the receding footsteps, he leaps out from his space in the closet, hurrying his way down the halls, and out of the castle.

He looks back to see if Techno is following him, and slams into something hard and metal.

An Autotron.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" The Autotron asks in his robotic voice. "This. Is. Unauthorized. Territory. You. Must. Leave."

"Uh right umm sorry about that," George says, hand going to rest on his sword in its hilt.

The Autotron must recognize what George is doing as violence, and its eyes begin to glow red as it pulls out its sword, and a shield materializes in its open left hand.

George hadn't had enough training for this...

Just as he is pulling out his sword, trying to stand his ground and look menacing, George sees a sword going through the stomach where all the circuiting is, as the robot seizes up, and falls to the ground.

"God George, you really do need me for everything, don't you?" Techno says, coming into view behind the robot when it falls.

"I'm not sure what you are talking about. I had it under control," George says, dismissively.

"Guys we got him. He is bleeding out, so I had to take him early. I'm not sure how long I have left to save him. Just get on the horses and get back here. I'm already halfway to Apparition, and something tells me I'll need both of you here to help me with him," Will says via earpiece.

"Techno. Please tell me who this 'him' is," George says pleadingly.

Techno just gives him an unreadable look and runs to where they stashed the horses.

George just rolls his eyes and follows after him, mounting up and galloping back toward Apparition.

And just like that, day one was complete.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George is sent on an important mission.

The entire ride back, Techno is silent.

George is a little bit too intimidated to try and start a conversation. He isn't really sure what he would say anyway.

When they finally arrive at the walls of Apparition, he can't help but feel a bit better.

He does wonder why nobody had ever told him about this part of the SMP.

It seems so strange that he was the literal king for a while, and it seemed like EVERYONE knew about this secret world but him...

He dismissed his feelings as they rode up to the guards, Techno them to be granted permission to pass through the gates.

"Where is the Head Guard?" Techno shouts.

"Here sir! Of course you can pass through," the Head Guard says.

When he turns around, George gasps.

Punz! 

Man, everybody really did know about this place.

"George? What the heck is he doing down here?" Punz asks Techno. "Isn't he a little too... soft?"

"Umm no I'll have you know I am training with Techno and Wilbur every day!" George says, trying to make himself appear strong and intimidating.

Understanding seems to pass from Techno to Punz, and Punz nods his head. "I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your stay in this hell-hole. Will came through earlier with a very uhh... bloody boy. You may want to check up on that one," Punz mutters, turning to supervise the rest of his guards. "Open the gates!"

The gates groan open, and the two nudge their horses through at a trot.

George begins to notice that Roe is upset. He hasn't stopped whinnying and tossing his head.

Wilbur and the boy rushing toward him must have set him off a bit.

They continue down the path made of cobble, back towards Centre.

"Hey Will. Make it back ok? Where should we find you? Is D- the boy still alive?" Techno quickly asks on the earpiece.

"Hey there. I'm a little bit in over my head. I need another medic. We don't have the right supplies. We need more blood since he has lost so much. Do you think you could go up to L'Manburg and grab some for me, George? Techno I need you in here helping me out." Will says via earpiece.

Both boys agree, and when they arrive at the city, Techno shows George to one of the tallest buildings.

"Just walk through that building until you find the elevator. Shouldn't be too hard to find, just around the corner. Ride it to the top floor, and you'll reach L'Manburg. You'll spawn inside the crane Wilbur built, and make sure that there isn't anyone watching you when you come out, and then go back in. Good luck," Techno wishes and gallops off in a hurry.

George's eyes widen.

Where was he even supposed to find the blood? Techno conveniently left that bit out.

George sighs.

Well, here goes nothing.

He ties up Roe by a trough, petting his nose and reassuring him that he will be back. He leaves an apple on the edge of the water trough so he can have a snack when he is done drinking.

George squares his shoulders, and without looking back, steps into the elevator inside the building, and presses the button for the top floor.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George sees a friend he has been missing.

George feels the elevator come to a stop.

The doors slide open, and fortunately, there is nobody there to see him.

He steps out and begins walking to where Wilbur lives.

Then he realizes that he doesn't even know that would be...

When he died, he obviously didn't need a place to live... Maybe he has a chest on his hot air balloon?

As he is walking toward the balloon, he takes off his mask and his goggles; he doesn't need them here.

It's so strange to see L'Manburg again. It had only been a day, but it had felt like so much longer. 

The sky was back to its normal blue again, the ground covered in luscious grass...

George did miss it the normal world, but somehow it didn't seem quite as appealing to him as Apparition. 

He couldn't explain anything about this feeling. It was so... offputting.

He shook it off, as he does almost all his feelings, and continues on his way when he sees someone that makes him stop dead in his tracks.

"Karl!" George yells, a huge smile on his face.

"Oh my goodness George! What the honk, I've missed you!" Karl says, coming to give George a hug. "Where have you been man? So much has happened since you left! It's been forever!" 

"What do you mean Karl? I've only been gone for a day!" George says, laughing. 

"Well, it feels like you've been gone for longer than that. El Rapids just isn't the same without you! Quackity and Sapnap miss you too.... hey! You should come see them!" Karl exclaims. 

"I wish I could... I have to get... something for Wilbur. Do you know where he keeps his medical blood?" George asks. 

"That is such a weird question... but whatever. I think he has some randomly stashed in the community house. Come!" Karl beckons, loafing off toward the house.

As they walk, the boys begin catching up.

"So where have you been for so long George?" Karl asks.

"Well... I can't tell you exactly. I just need you to trust me on this one. I wish I could, but I think it would only confuse things more..." George says, guiltily. 

"That's ok man. I do trust you. We've not been doing much around here. Sapnap and Quackity offered for me to join up with them at El Rapids, and I ended up accepting! I am pretty excited about it. We've been working on gathering weapons, though I'm not sure why. I think it must have been discussed before I was added. Oh well! I have my favorite people with me, so I'm not complaining!" Karl smiles.

"Mhm your favorite people huh?" George asks, raising and lowering his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

"Shut up George," Karl says, blushing. "You know nothing. Plus, you've got your own little crush, now don't you?"

Now it was George's turn to blush "I don't know what you are talking about. I'm not... no. I don't have a crush on a boy. I mean on anyone. I don't like anybody like that," George said, very flustered.

"Mhmmmmm whatever Gogy but I've seen the way you look at Dream... even though he took you off the throne or whatever. You don't seem to be upset about the throne though..." Karl notices.

"I really don't care about the throne. I mean yeah it was nice, but I miss not being able to talk to... any of my old friends," George says, purposefully not saying Dream's name. "I am, however, glad that I still have you to talk to, you big nimrod. How do you feel that Christmas is coming up?"

"Ohhhhh I kind of forgot about Christmas! I am excited! Since Tommy has been exiled, nobody has really been able to talk to him. I'm lowkey kind of excited to see if he will talk to Tubbo on Christmas. Their friendship is the best thing I have ever seen. Not that we don't have a good friendship, of course. They are really just like family to each other. I think it's pretty cool," Karl says with a soft smile.

"Oh yeah. I can't help but notice that you and Sapnap seem like brothers lately..." George trails off seeing if Karl will take the bait.

"Very funny George you think I'm that much of a nimrod? However, that statement is majorly honked up," Karl says, punching George on the arm.

They have finally arrived at the community house, and Karl shows Geroge where the blood bags are located. George puts them in his bag that he brought.

"Well Karl, I guess this is it. At least for a little bit. I promise I'll be back, ok? I'll miss you," George says, knowing that he won't get to see his friend for a long time.

Karl immediately pulls George into a hug, telling him that he will miss him too.

"You better come back nimrod. Sapnap and Quackity are driving me insane. The ratio of crazy to normal has been screwed up since you left," Karl jokes.

George laughs, and promises he'll come back, as he gives Karl a final wave and a smile. 

As he is walking back to the crane, he can't help but think of how close he had gotten to so many of his friends on the SMP. 

Maybe Tubbo and Tommy weren't the only family bonds that were formed on the server.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George is left out of the loop once again, and passes the time wandering around the main base.

As George is riding back down the elevator, he asks Techno via earpiece where he should go to bring the blood.

"Just bring it to The Hub. I'll meet you outside to let you in. You need to hurry. We are losing him over here. The bleeding has stopped, but we're not sure how long we have for the transfusion," Techno says, sounding out of breath.

"You can count on me Techno," George says, getting off the elevator and out of the building.

He mounts Roe.

"Ok buddy. I'm going to need you to take me back to The Hub. You're gonna have to be really fast ok? A boy is counting on us," George says, urging Roe towards The Hub.

When they finally get there in only 2 minutes -the ride is usually 5 at a gallop-, Roe is huffing.

"You did so well buddy," George encourages while sliding off the saddle, handing the reins to a stablehand.

He sees Techno, who immediately asks where the blood bags are.

When George says they are in his bag, Techno immediately reaches for it.

"I'll just carry them for you. I don't mind!" George says.

"No George. You can't come in here. You wouldn't want to..." Techno says.

"Oh blood doesn't bother me! I can help! Will said he needs all the hands he can get anyways," George says cheerfully.

"No George. Out of the question. I'm sorry," Techno says.

"You can't just keep telling me what to do. I'll come in if I want to," George huffs.

"George would you stop being selfish and just LISTEN. You don't want to be in there. And even if you did, you would interfere. So, instead of wasting my time, which could be used to be saving this boy, you are making me talk out here. Now, we can stop arguing and I can go save a man's life, or we can keep arguing and let him die. You pick."

"Fine. Go," George sighs and surrenders the bags.

Techno seizes them, and turns quickly on his heel with a flourish of his cape, and walks back towards where George assumes is the medical room.

George is left outside alone. He doesn't quite know what to do. 

He thinks about visiting Roe, but there are a bunch of stablehands around and he doesn't really want to talk to them, as he had never been good at small talk.

He chooses instead to wander around the main bunker-like base. 

He walls down one of the many hallways, away from the direction where he was first introduced to Apparition.

The first room he stumbles across appears to be a... map room?

There is a bunch of scrolls shoved into one corner, on tables and counters, and there is a wall that is just completely taken up by a gigantic map of Apparition, as well as Inferno.

He decides this room is quite boring, so he leaves to find another area.

The next room he finds is around the corner.

It is a massive library, that takes up two stories. It is modeled pretty similarly to the lab. There is a floor to ceiling fireplace, and lots of comfy chairs spread out for people to enjoy.

George wanders the aisles of books and picks one at random.

Without even looking at the title, he settles into one of the red chairs next to the lit fireplace and cracks open the dusty cover of the dated book.

And for the first time, he lets his guard down and just enjoys himself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream remembers a time when he and George were close.

TW // Blood, mentioning death

While George is in the library, unaware of the chaos in the medical room, Techno and Wilbur are working to save Dream's life.

"Techno... I think it's a lost cause. I'm not sure either of us can save him. He's just lost too much blood," Wilbur says, medical apron drowned in blood.

"No. NO! Don't talk like that. We can save him!" Techno says, putting the third IV into Dreams arm.

At first, they thought he was headed for recovery until his vitals started plummeting...

~DREAMS POV~

I knew I passed out a while on Wilburs horse as we were riding back to Apparition.

Then, I suddenly saw myself on the operating table. 

This was... weird to say the least.

Wilbur and Techno were over me trying to save my life with all they had, and I knew I should get back down there and keep fighting, but part of me didn't want to.

"I mean, what are we going to do Will? I can't lose him. Not again. I WON'T LOSE DREAM AGAIN!" Techno yells, slamming his fist down on a countertop.

"Thank goodness George isn't here to witness this. He would be hysterical. It's a good thing he's not with us," Wilbur says.

Wait a second...

Was George...? No.

He couldn't be dead.

I refused to believe that.

I was jerked violently back into memories I didn't remember I had.

George and I building the community house for the first time, George looking so fricking handsome in a suit when I had him compete for money, George and I watching the sunset for George's first time seeing colors...

Oh, that was a good day.

I remember it like it was simply yesterday.

"Dream, look!" George said, pointing to the sunset. "It's so beautiful. I can finally see colors now thanks to the goggles you got me. I- didn't expect it to be this- breathtaking. It really is just amazing."

George's eyes were lit up with wonder behind his goggles, grin bright enough to light the sky, and I couldn't help but mutter under my breath, "Yes, you are."

"What was that Dream?" George mumbled, not paying any attention.

"Don't worry about it George, not important. Come sit with me," I said softly, taking George's hand in mine to lead him to a bench nearby.

I immediately felt sparks collide when I touched George's soft hands, and I try to hold in my gasp.

I was so caught up in the fact we were touching, I didn't even notice George squeeze my hand the tiniest bit.

We sit on the bench, and George, unfortunately, releases my hand.

"I can't believe I've missed out on this my whole life. I can't even describe it. It's even more beautiful than the flowers! I mean, look at it!" George whispered, gesturing to the lit sky. 

But I was not looking at the sunset.

I was looking at those captivating eyes, which I could stare into endlessly.

My gaze drifting down to his lips, I wonder what it might be like to-

I immediately stop that train of thought.

"He doesn't feel the same way about me anyways," I think, lowering my head sorrowfully and closing my eyes.

Suddenly, I feel George's hand on mine.

I open my eyes and look at him through my mask.

"Hey Dream... you ok? You look... sad?" George said, frown on his face.

"No, no I'm ok George! This is your time to be happy! I just got caught up in imagining things I can't have," I admit.

"Well... you could have anything you want Dream. I mean, you're you! You just have it all," George says, taking hold of Dreams hand. "And I know it doesn't mean much, but you always have me too. I'll always be here for you."

"George, what do you mean? Of course it matters! You know you'll always have me too. I am so glad we are friends you idiot," I say, removing my hands from under George's.

As I look back to the sunset, I feel George shifting beside me.

When he just barely lays his head on my shoulder, my eyes widen.

After a few seconds of me not moving, I can feel him relax more, putting more weight on me.

I can hear his content sigh, and feel him nuzzling his head further onto my shoulder, and I let him, a small smile and reddening cheeks hidden underneath my mask.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has an important flashback and makes a life-changing decision.

Dreams POV

I am pulled out of that memory by a constant beeping.

"We're losing him, Wilbur!" Techno screams.

I had rarely seen Techno show any emotions, yet here he was.

Techno, 'hardened by war' as he says, was crying. 

Wilbur just looked up to him, bottom lip trembling slightly. "I want to save him too, Techno. I just think it's past time."

And Wilbur was right.

I had failed to save Geroge, and now he was dead because of me.

I had always promised him that I would protect him, and I had failed.

What was even the point of trying to live anymore?

I was so caught up in feeling sorry for myself and preparing to let go, I didn't notice Techno run out of the room and come back in with someone else.

"Well if he isn't going to wake up for us, he has to wake up for this nimrod," Techno says, rolling his eyes.

"Oh god Dream!" George said, running over to my lifeless body. "No, no. You can't die on me. Not after you left me alone after you dethroned me. You can't leave me alone again. NO DREAM! I WON'T LET YOU DIE," George screamed.

I was shocked. He wasn't dead.

"George," I said softly, reaching out to touch his face...

But I realized I was still having this weird out-of-body experience.

"How long have you guys kept this from me? I mean... he's here! Do you KNOW how long I have been going without seeing him? I mean, what is WRONG with you guys?" George asks, getting hysterical.

"George, you need to calm down," Techno says in his monotonous voice.

"Calm down?! This is my BEST FRIEND on the table, vitals crashing, and I haven't hugged him, talked to, or even SEEN him in a month! Do you know how hard that is? I- I mean..." George gasps, realization hitting him.

"He's dead isn't he..." George says, face contorting into a hardened mask, devoid of emotion.

"No George. Not yet anyway... his vitals are just too low. I don't think I can..." Wilbur trails off, tear rolling down his cheek.

George nods mechanically. 

"I understand Will. It's nobody's fault but my own. I got myself trapped down here and I'm sure he just accidentally wandered in looking for me. I am the only one to blame" George says, his face more frozen than the smile on my mask. 

"No George, no. It's not your fault!" I raise my voice, but he can't hear me. 

George kneels down, next to my face which is somehow still masked and looks at me.

"I never got to see your face. I never got to push your mask up and see your eyes. I never got to give you one last hug. I never got to tell you how much-" George's voice cracks. "I never got to tell you how much I love you."

He lifts a hand up, and for a second I think he will remove my mask, but no.

He just rests his hand on top of one of mine.

He sniffs once, laying his forehead on top of mine, though just for a second, and getting up and swiftly walking out of the room to hide his sobs.

I finally realize I cannot die.

Not here anyway.

Not now.

I want to live.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has yet another flashback, reminding him of what he promised Dream.

*Back to third person POV*

TW // panic attack, blood

George runs out of the room, gasping for air.

He can't seem to get enough air in, and he is only able to take short, shallow breaths.

He collapses to the floor outside the lab, scooting up so his back is against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, taking those same shallow breaths.

He notices his arm has a deep gash in it, blood starting to leak out of it, and wonders when he got that.

Most of the time, he would be alarmed by the blood, and try to wrap up his arm, but what was even the point of caring anymore?

Then he remembers something Dream told him before...

*Flashback*

"Georgeeeeeee," Dream wheezes as he sprints deftly between two trees after George.

Dream, George, and Sapnap were messing around with manhunt stuff.

"NO, DREAM! SAPNAP HELP ME!" George yells, narrowly evading Dream's swinging sword.

Then when all hope seems lost, Sapnap jumps out from behind a bush yelling, "GET AWAY FROM HIMMMMM!"

George begins to pull ahead, Dream distracted with fending off Sapnap.

He finds a sort of hidden cave, and slips inside, crouching to avoid being detected.

He waits there, the cave silent except for the occasional drip of water he can hear.

"BOO!" Dream yells, jumping around the corner.

"AHH!" George yells, clutching at his chest. "Dear god Dream don't DO that!"

Dream wheezes and slides down the rock George was huddling behind, to sit next to him.

George punches his arm. "You're an idiot," He mumbles.

"Ooh, am I?" Dream asks in a low voice, raising one eyebrow behind his mask.

"Uhh as a matter of fact, YES!" I just can't stand you. You really are out there, trying to kill me, scaring me in-" George is cut off as Dream tackles him, pinning his arms above his head.

"What are you gonna do now George? Hmmmmm? Do you REALLY hate me?" Dream teases.

George struggles for a moment, knowing that he won't be able to get Dream off of him.

"Dreammmmmmmmm," George whines. "Pleaseeeee get off me? Pweaseeee?"

He knows Dream always falls for George's puppy dog eyes.

"Nope. I'm not gonna do it! You won't get me this time, Gogy," Dream says, shifting George's hands to one of his so he can reach for his sword.

He scoots up to sit on his chest, pointing his sword to George's chin.

"What tricks do you have up your sleeve now, pretty boy?" Dream says with a smirk.

"I- I don't know Dream," George says, eyes widening with how close Dream was to him.

"You know, I've been thinking..." Dream says, somehow having a completely normal tone despite sitting on George. "I think I should train you; if you want it of course. I may not always be around to protect you. I may die first..."

"How did this come up Dream? Of course I'll always have you. But I would always love training with you. I think I have a lot to learn, especially from someone like you," George admits.

"Well, I just mean that I need you to keep going if I can't always be there with you. I couldn't bear it if you died. Just... promise me you'll be strong if I can't always be there," Dream pleads.

"Ok yeah, of course Dream. I promise I will," George promises, sensing his friend is distraught.

Dream gets up off of George and pulls him into a hug.

George is confused, but he allows himself to melt into the hug, resting his head on Dreams shoulder.

*Present time*

As George was shoved back into the present, he knew what he had to do.

He had to keep being strong for Dream.

And he was going to get revenge on Schlatt for taking his best friend from him.

He had never been so sure of anything in his life.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George hears relieving news.

TW // mention of blood

Back in the Medical Room, Techno throws down the tool he was holding, swearing under his breath.

"God Dream, you were supposed to outlast me," Techno mutters, punching a wall.

"Oh Techno. There was nothing we could do... I mean-"

Dream suddenly gasps, sitting straight up, eyes wide.

"George. Where's George?" Dream asks, eyes flitting back and forth across the room, seeming to be unaware of the pain he should be feeling caused by the bone-deep gashes he had all over his body.

Techno and Will stood speechless and wide-eyed, mouths hanging completely open, frozen.

"What? I don't understand what the issue is here..." Dream says in a normal tone. "Can you just take me to Geroge?"

"Uh- umm- wha- Dream- Why-," Techno can't even get out a full sentence.

"Dream umm... are you not in pain?" Wilbur asks.

Dream just stares back in confusion.

"Ummm I mean a little, I guess... What are you both on about? I know I'm like, hurt or whatever, but can we get a move-on getting me to Geroge? Come on guys, let's make it snappy here time is money," Dream says while trying to awkwardly hoist himself off the table.

"N- uhh, NO! Dream get back on the operating table! You can't just... LEAVE!," Will says, noticing Dream is starting to sway and blink rapidly.

"Whew, now that you say it, I do feel a little woozy..." Dream says, collapsing back onto the table.

"Uhhh ok? I guess you're okay-ish...? Umm wow. Techno let's get that other bag of blood and start sewing him up. Dream? You should be ok once we get more blood in your system," Wilbur reassures him. "Just hold on for a little longer buddy."

An hour later, Dream had passed out, but Wilbur and Techno finish the last stitch.

"He'll have a lot of scars, but he is gonna be ok," Wilbur breaths out a sigh of relief, collapsing onto a chair.

"Thank god," Techno mutters under his breath.

"OH GOD!" Wilbur says, realization hitting him. "DID WE TELL GEORGE?"

Techno swears. "No, we didn't."

"GO! GO TELL HIM NOW!" Wilbur yells at Techno, but he is already out of the door.

Techno exits the hall, and almost falls over George, a small form curled up into a ball.

"George," Techno says softly, touching the boy's shoulder.

George slowly lifts his tear-stained face to meet Techno's gaze. "Don't say anything," George says, trying not to break down again.

"No George, you don't get it. It was a very hard operation. We lost him a couple of times," Techno says. "But then, you came in. You talked to him. George, he heard you. He was giving up, and you saved him. We were able to sew him back up and administer back all the blood he needs. He'll be permanently scarred, but he's ok. Wilbur did it. We did it...

"We saved him. We saved Dream."


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and Geroge are finally allowed some time to relax together.

George runs past Techno back through the halls, slamming open the door to the Medical Room.

His eyes fly to meet Dream, who is just waking up from passing out.

George's hand flies to his mouth, gasping, tears still running down his face.

Dream heard the little gasp, eyes widening as he turns toward the direction of his best friend.

Then he feels a body slam into his, grunting with the tiniest bit of pain he felt, his happiness blocking the rest.

George clutches the back of Dream's hoodie- knuckles turning white- as if he is the only thing holding him to the earth.

Will and Techno share a look with Dream, holding the sobbing boy, and understanding passes between them, as they leave Dream alone with George.

Dream buries his head in George's shoulder, starting to tear up a little bit.

"Dream I-I thought I l-lost y-you a-again..." George says, sobbing.

"You'll never be able to get rid of me George. I'll haunt you 'til the day you die," Dream pet's George's hair.

He feels the smaller boy's head lull to the side on his shoulder.

"Have you gotten much sleep, George?" Dream asks, concerned.

"Ummm..." George trails off.

"Geez George! You need to sleep right now. Tell Will through your earpiece that we are going to one of the break rooms," Dream says gently, slowly and painfully trying to move off the table.

George does, and supports Dream off the table, relieving most of the weight off of Dream's damaged body.

"George I've got this. I don't need any help," Dream insists.

"You'd have to be an idiot if you think I'm letting go of you," George says.

Dream tries to chuckles, but it hurts him so it's more of a wince.

George's heart breaks for the boy as he follows Dream's lead to one of the 'break rooms'. 

They open the door and shuffle inside.

George lays Dream down on one queen-sized bed and moves to leave the room.

"George where do you think you're going? Nope. You're staying here with me," Dream states.

"Well ermmm... isn't that quite a bit awkward?" George asks.

"Only if you make it," Dream says with a smirk. "Please?"

Dream rolls onto his side, opening his arms for Geroge to lay inside.

George huffs as if it troubles him, not fooling either of them, and walks over to the bed, sitting down, and scootching his back up against Dreams chest.

He can feel the other boy's heart beating rather quickly.

George rolls over to facing Dream and snuggles to where his head is resting on Dream's shoulder, face turned into Dream's neck. 

Dream is laying on his back, arm encircling George's body, but also petting his hair.

"I missed you Dream. I really missed you," George said, eyelids beginning to get heavy.

Dream squeezed the boy into a closer cuddle as a response, and he finally hears George's breathing even out, signaling that he is asleep.

"I love you, George," Dream confesses, turning his head so he could look at George's relaxed features.

He really did look so beautiful when he was sleeping. 

Dream felt a yawn coming, signaling that he was tired, and he turned over so that his nose was centimeters away from George's, arms wrapping tightly around him.

Dream lets out a content sigh with a happy little grin.

It was the best sleep either of them had gotten in months.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream confesses his feelings for George while George is asleep.

George slowly starts to become more awake, blinking his eyes slowly.

Overnight, the pair had become quite... tangled... in each other.

Geroge's arm was draped across Dream's body, pulling the boy closer to George.

One of George's legs was thrown across Dream's.

George's face burns, and yet he makes no move to shift positions or get up.

Consequently, he actually nuzzles closer, enjoying this moment of pure happiness while he can.

Dream smells good. 

Like a mixture of pears and sunlight.

Dream had changed his sweatshirt at some point last night, but George didn't remember that happening.

This man really had no shortage of his own merch, donning the trademark lime smile hoodie.

Since George was so close, he could tell Dream's sweatshirt smelled like him too.

George's favorite thing to do with his sweatshirts was to wear them over his hands, and that was what he was doing right now.

The warmth of his sweatshirt and body heat from Dream wasn't too hot or too cold.

George was probably the comfiest he had ever been.

With a happy sigh, George snuggles back up to Dream, enjoying the moment and letting the other boy sleep.

~

About thirty minutes later, Dream stirred.

He could feel George wound around him, and his face turned beet red.

Dream hand was still in George's soft hair, which he began to pet.

Dream felt so safe here, alone with George in his arms. He didn't want to ever get up.

He was holding his whole world, right in his arms.

"Oh George," Dream said, stroking George's hair. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Dream realized he could tell George anything at this moment. 

George couldn't even hear him!

He decided to take advantage of this moment, as he didn't think he would ever tell George what he was about to say, to his face.

"I've been so confused G. We are best friends, and yet... I just feel something different for you. You are the one and only reason I kept living. It was just for you George. I was just going to give up. I thought you were dead. I couldn't keep going on without you," Dream said.

Beneath him, George muttered something, and scooted himself closer to Dream subconsciously.

"I know you're asleep, but I just need to... I guess vent..? about this stuff, you know? Like, I don't know what I feel about you... and maybe I don't need to know. Maybe it's ok not to know. What I do know is that right here, right now, I just wish I had the guts to kiss you," Dream said boldly. "I want to be your first kiss, George. I want to be your first boyfriend... I want to be your first in a lot of things. I just don't want to disappoint you. And what if you don't feel the same way?" Dream wheezes at himself, wondering how he thought George could ever like him.

" I mean when you think about it, it's stupid, really. I know you don't feel the same way, but I still can't move on from you. I've liked you for forever, George... I can't remember when I didn't like you..." Dream said, George's silky soft hair running through his fingers.

"You are the one for me. You deserve to be loved more than anyone has ever been loved," Dream said.

George hums quietly and opens his eyes. "Good morning, Dream!" George says, raising his head to look back at his friend.

George's cheeks were flushed and he had the most adorable smile on his face.

Dream looked into George's eyes and felt more at home than he had ever felt.

He reached out, touched George's cheek, and just held his hand there.

George tried to hold in his surprise, but he could feel his cheeks begin to flush.

They sat there for a minute, staring into each other's eyes.

They didn't know it at the time, but that was the start of something more.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur, Dream, and George go to meet Techno at the castle.

Just as George was about to let himself melt into Dream's touch, there was a knock on the door.

"Get all your clothes back on you lovebirds," Wilbur calls, laughing.

"Oh come on now," Dream mutters, reluctantly removing his hand from George's face and getting up from the place that provided him so much comfort.

He inhales sharply, forgetting about how much pain his injuries caused him if he moved too quickly. 

George was instantly at his side. "Dream, are you ok?" he asks, face creased with worry. 

"I'm ok George. You can come in Wilbur!" Dream yells. 

The door opens and Wilbur appears in the frame, hand over his eyes.

"God Will, what do you think we were doing?" Dream asks, rolling his eyes.

"I never know with you two... you are a bit unpredictable. You're lucky Karl isn't here... he would never let you live this one down," Wilbur says, chuckling.

Dream just rolls his eyes while Geroge gets extremely red and chuckles nervously.

"What do we owe the PLEASURE of your visit, Wilbur?" Dream asks sarcastically.

"I actually just needed to talk to you Dream. I think you, me, and Techno have some catching up to do... don't you? There's some... things we need to address, wouldn't you say?" Wilbur says, cryptically.

George looks up at Dream, confused of what they are talking about. "Oh no no no. Don't tell me that there's another thing I don't know about. You guys are the best at not telling me things."

"I think he should know," Dream gestures at George. "George, come."

Dream and Wilbur turn and start to walk out of the room.

"You can't just command me to come and expect me to do it. I'm not your puppy dog Dream," Geroge mumbles.

Dream just stops and turns around, eyebrows raised at George.

".... ok fine, whatever, I'm coming but not because of you, idiot," George hits into Dreams shoulder with his own as he walks out of the room as Dream smiles in victory.

~

George follows Wilbur out of the main base, and into The Hub to grab their horses.

"Where's..." Dream trails off when he sees George mount up on Roe. "Caballero...?" Dream says with a smile, not believing what he saw.

George sees Dream staring in the general direction of him and Roe, and guides the horse over to where Dream was.

Roe immediately starts whinnying and tossing his head around.

"Hey there boy!" Dream says, laughing, petting his nose.

"Uhhhh Dream what is happening right now?" George asks, somehow even more confused than before.

"I'll tell you in a little bit. For now, I'm riding with you," Dream says, preparing for the likely painful mount onto Roe, who is very tall.

After Dream tries the first time and fails because of his injuries, George rolls his eyes and dismounts, lacing his hands together to make a step for Dream.

Dream just narrows his eyes, leads Roe to a hay bale, and uses the haybale to throw himself up and over Roe's back, behind the saddle.

"Did you honestly think I would accept your help? No way. Now come back over here and follow Wilbur," Dream says. 

George rolls his eyes and mounts up on Roe, having to hoist himself up there like always.

He can hear Dream snickering behind him, so he gives him a nice elbow to the ribs, despite Dream's physical state.

"Bet that'll teach you, you arrogant prat," George mutters, clicking his tongue at Roe to urge him forward after Wilbur.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George realizes his true feelings for Dream.

Roe sets off on at an even pace, trotting happily behind Wilbur and his horse Blaire.

"Techno is already at the castle waiting on us!" Wilbur informs George through his earpiece.

"Hey Dream," George called, looking back over his shoulder. "Techno is waiting for us at the castle, wherever and whatever that means. Yet another thing I have been misinformed of."

When Dream doesn't respond, George looks back behind him.

Dream is clutching at his ribs with a wince on his face.

"Dream oh my gosh. You good? Do we need to stop?" George asks.

"N-no," Dream manages.

George reaches behind him, feeling for Dream's hands, and grabs both of them, and puts them around his own waist. "It'll be over soon Dreamie. Just squeeze when it hurts, ok?" Geroge coos.

Dream slumps onto George, nodding his head and breathing deeply.

George takes one of his hands off the reins and put's it over one of Dream's.

"Wilbur we've gotta pick up the pace. Dream is hurting back here. Do you have any sort of medical ointment or painkillers or something that we could give him?" George asks via earpiece.

"Yeah, I do. Move up with me, and we'll pick up the pace. You can help him put it on when we get to the castle," Wilbur says.

"Sounds like a plan," George says, tapping Roe's sides with his feet to make him go faster. 

~

They finally arrive at the castle.

George's eyes widen.

This castle is just so much better than the one at Inferno.

It's made of Stone Bricks and has the most beautiful fountains outside of it. 

It's one of the only locations with grass, and it is well maintained.

They reach the stables section of the castle and hand off the reins to stablehands.

George supports Dream, helping him to walk up the stairs to the entrance.

"You sure you don't want me to help George? I'm a lot taller than you to be quite honest," Wilbur says. 

George denies. 

On the way up, George remembered that Techno was technically ruler of Apparition. He had forgotten that Schlatt had made that possible... Thank goodness Techno was on their side, or all of this would have gone to hell.

When they get to the grand hall, Wilbur gets out ointment from his satchel and hands it to George.

"You have to rub it all over the parts where his skin is cut," Wilbur explains. "If you'd like, I can do it for you."

"Oh no! I got it!" George exclaims, always eager to help out his friend.

What he did not think about was the fact that Dream was going to have to pull off his shirt...

Dream plops down on the nearest bench. 

"If you just give that to me, I can do it," Dream says, holding his hand out.

George gives him the ointment, and Dream hesitates...

"Turn around George," Dream says, self-conscious even though he knows he shouldn't be.

George rolls his eyes but does as the taller boy asks.

After about 5 minutes of pain-filled gasps and groans, Dream is done with the front part of his body. 

The only problem is, he can't reach the back.

Dream swears under his breath. "George?" He calls out, tentatively. "Ummm I think I may need your help after all..."

George takes the quickest deep breath to prepare himself and turns around.

His eyes immediately widen and he is frozen in shock.

Oh god... Dream was hot.

He had all these chiseled muscles and, yes, a 6 pack.

Geroge couldn't help but wonder why he was constantly hiding... this.

"Uhhhh George I know I'm hot, but could you maybe stop staring at me like that? It's making me a little..."

"Oh god uhh yeah I mean I'm not staring," George stutters, stumbling over his own feet. "Ye- umm- yeah let me help you with that cream."


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George learns something he didn't know before about Dream, and Dream is re-appointed an important role.

George sits next to Dream, staring at Dream's muscled shoulders, frozen.

"Uhhhhhh, George? You can start if you want. Give me a bit of a warning though before you do; it stings and I don't want to accidentally murder you," Dream says, attempting humor despite begin in pain.

George squeaks out an ok, dipping his fingers into the ointment.

He begins to massage it onto Dream's back, trying to be gentle.

In front of him, Dream sucks in a breath at the sting of the medicine.

When Geroge gets finished with Dream's back, he moves to get up quickly.

"Um not so fast George I need your help with my stomach too. I don't think I got it rubbed in well enough," Dream says, ceramic mask covering his secret smirk.

He knew how much this was affecting George, and he was going to play off of it all he could.

George's eyebrows just crease in concern, but he would do anything for Dream, so he sits back down.

He slowly reaches his hand out, stopping millimeters away from Dream's abs.

Dream just chuckles softly and gently puts his hand on George's, guiding it to rest on his stomach.

George just sits there, wide-eyed, frozen to his spot.

Realizing that Dream is waiting on him, he snaps out of it, spreading on the medicine, tracing his hands through the planes of his abs.

Dream blinks a few times, not believing this is happening. 

"Umm well, that should be the last spot!" Geroge says cheerfully, trying to pretend that never happened.

"Isn't it so weird that you've seen me half naked before you've seen my face?" Dream asks, teasing George.

"We are never talking about this again, Dream," George softly snickers, face turning tomato red as he trots off in the direction Wilbur went.

Dream rolls his eyes and sets off after him, wheezing.

George sees some beautiful and tall wooden doors opened at the end of the hallway, and assumes that this is where he is supposed to be going. 

When he enters, he sees Techno and Wilbur talking.

Techno sits on a throne of pure gold, with Wilbur to his right, sitting on a smaller throne made of stone.

A chair of equal height and materials sits to the left of Techno, empty... waiting to be filled by a person.

They both look at ease, despite how chaotic the whole day has been for George. 

George can tell they have a very strong bond.

These two were meant to be close... they acted just like brothers.

George smiles softly and strolls into the room, Dream running up right behind him.

"Alright nimrods let's get this meeting going!" Dream wheezes.

Techno raises one eyebrow. "Well then, First Noble Knight... come sit on your throne,"

George's mouth falls open, and he whips his head around to look at Dream. "Ok, WHAT NOW?" George yells.

Dream just winces as he takes his seat. "Ha ha... surprise?" 

"What do you MEAN, 'surprise'? You've been a Knight down here this whole time? HOW LONG?"

"Ummmmmm.... like 10 years..." Dream trails off.

George looks at the two others who are purposely not looking at him.

"You lot are a whole bunch of liars, you know that? I mean, what else are you going to forget to tell me? Next thing I know, you'll be telling me is that Dream is leading an army to go to war!" George raises his voice and laughing sarcastically. 

"Welllllll..." all three boys say.

"WAIT A MINUTE.... WHAT?" George is furious. "WHEN WERE YOU PLANNING ON TELLING ME THIS?"

"Well the war isn't planned for a long time... we need to build up an army. It's big enough to fend off Inferno's army, but not to lead an attack," Techno explains. "Dream is appointed as my head of the Army, as well as being the best fighter we have on the force. Those seem to be like good enough reasons to have him as my Knight."

Techno snaps for one of his assistants, and they bring out a box of things.

Techno opens the box and pulls out a sword, cape, and a crest.

"Sir Dream. Finest Knight of the 3 Kingdoms of the SMP. Please kneel." Techno says, regalness unmistakable in his voice.

Dream kneels, head down, while George feels very much like a third wheel.

"I present you with your ceremonial sword and cape," Techno states while tying the cape around Dream's neck. "Given up when you left, they are now returned to you. You know the rules. Protect them with your life, and uphold the honor and peace they symbolize. Please rise, Dream."

Techno takes the crest out of the old wooden box, placing it on Dream's chest. 

"With all the nobles present, I now re-declare you," Techno states, tapping Dream on both shoulders with the saber he pulls out of his sheath.

"First Noble Knight of Apparition."


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George have their first training session.

Dream bows in the direction of Technoblade and Wilbur then turns around to face George.

He places a hand on his heart, and bows to George, sweeping his cape behind him.

"Why are you bowing to me Dream? I mean I don't really deserve it," George admits.

"Because, George. I swear to protect you. I swear to always have you in the back of my mind. I swear to keep you from harm. You before me, as it should be, and always has been," Dream says, not stuttering a single bit.

George just slightly lets his mouth fall open, his face turning a bit red.

Techno coughs awkwardly, "Umm well Dream will be training you for a while, George. We caught wind of a masquerade Christmas party in L'Manburg in about a week, and I think we all need to go to that. One thing you'll learn about Apparition is that we have to protect the Upper portion of the world most of the time. Schlatt sends Vikk and Lazarbeam up there to do damage all the time. They are both his Knights if you didn't already know," Techno says.

George knew about Vikk being a Knight, but not Lazar...

"So, both of you need to be off to train. Wilbur and I will figure out how we are all going to show up next week, and we usually don't do anything for Christmas around here. You can go back up to L'Manburg if you're expecting all this fake holiday cheer crap," Techno says sourly.

George rolls his eyes.

How could there be no Christmas?

Dream nods to Techno, and walks up to George, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him out.

"Dream I can walk by myself, thank you very much," George says, picking up Dream's hand and dropping it.

Dream just smiles, turning down a hallway just before they reached the exit of the castle.

"Wait Dream where are you going? Training arena is in Centre I thought?" George asks.

"Techno trained you in THAT one? Yikes, he really was keeping this whole area a secret. Uhh no, this is the direction of the arena that we train our Knights in. It's just... slightly more high-tech," Dream says, reaching the end of the hall and going down a spiral staircase, George bringing up the rear.

When they reach the bottom, George sucks in a breath.

There is a river, veining through different sections of a huge arena. It must have been the entire underside of the castle. The river seemed to mark off sections. In one area to the left, there were trees. They were clustered very close together to make it difficult to navigate through. There was an open area, most likely used for sword and axe training. The rest of the sections just looked to be somewhat normal, mirroring biomes that they may encounter. The ice one looked pretty cool to George, encased in glass, most likely to keep the cold in.

"I mean... wow," George breathed. "I just keep getting more and more surprised with this place. This arena is amazing. I can't believe you guys have all this high-tech stuff just hidden from the Upper section of the SMP. It's so cool down here."

Dream walks to a case, picking out an earpiece and putting it in his ear. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. I engineered most of the stuff for down here a while back. I could do some of it up there, but I don't really need to. We have more of a need for it here."

Dream beckons George to the regular sword fighting arena, hopping over the flowing river.

"The first thing you need to know how to do in combat is shifting your weight and dodging attacks. The mistake I see most often in our young knights in training is that they don't know how to be agile. We must train this first, but from what I can tell, you seem to be pretty good at that. Let's test it," Dream says, advancing in on George, sword drawn.

George readies himself, setting his feet and drawing his sword.

Dream suddenly lunges, sword pointed at George's stomach.

George dodges the blow, side-stepping the blade and countering Dream's attack.

"Very good," Dream says, going in for another attack, and then another.

George is able to continuously dodge his attacks, having no problems at all. He is even able to get in a few hits against Dream.

"Well, I'm very happy with your defense. Let's move to your attacks. Techno told me you have the most trouble with stabbing stuff. That is my speciality, so we shouldn't have an issue," Dream says, chuckling.

For the next hour, Dream gives George tips on how to accurately target someone, lethal kills, non-lethal kills, and how to focus in and not let anything distract you.

Geroge is soaked in sweat by the time they are done.

Dream is a good teacher.

"I'd like to do a slight test, if that's ok with you," Dream says, pointing toward the dense trees.

"Uhh yeah sure, but I don't think I'm ready..." George trails off.

"George, I honestly think you are. All I had to do was sharpen you up on some of your more rusty combat knowledge. You're very much on your way to being better than most of my knights. You're ready," Dream says confidently.

George takes a deep breath, standing at the edge of the forest.

If Dream believed in him, then he needed to believe in himself.

"Ok, on my mark run in there. I'll be on the other side, searching for you. If you can see me, attack me. Surprise attacks will almost always win if you are well trained, and you are. Good luck," Dream says. "Go."

George sprints into the thick forest.

He listens all around him for anything that will indicate the taller boys presence. Crunching leaves, feet pounding the ground...

He hears nothing and decides to take a sort of loop around the area.

All of a sudden, he has an idea....

~

Dream doesn't know where the heck George went. He had been looking for him for the past 10 minutes. Maybe he never went in?

As he heads toward where George had started, he senses a presence behind him, but too late.

"Gotcha," George says, voice deep and taunting, sword pressed to Dream's neck.

"Wow..." Dream breathes as George removes the sword from his neck. "That was really good George. I'm actually a little bit... impressed. I mean I was expecting to have to train you in combat for forever, but you're a natural. You should be proud of the progress you've made today. I'll definitely need to keep training you, perhaps in archery too, but we should only need that week before the masquerade!" Dream says, excited at how well he believes George will be at fighting.

"Well a student is only as good as his teacher," George says, smiling at Dream. "Plus you're too arrogant to fail me. It would only reflect badly on you, wouldn't it?"

Dream rolls his eyes as they exit the forest.

"You're an idiot, George," Dream says.

"I'm YOUR idiot though!"

Dream blushes and pushes George into the river.

"Wha- HEY!" George yells, catching Dream off guard and pulling him into the water with him, laughing as Dream faceplants right beside him.

"Oh you little brat," Dream says, grinning devilishly. He sends a wave of water toward Geroge.

They both start laughing, having a full-on water fight when George tries to get the upper hand and get out of the river.

"You'll never catch me, dear Dreamie, I'm almost out of the river!" George says, grinning mischievously.

"What was that?" Dream asks in a low, taunting voice.

George winces at the black boots he sees in front of him.

"Oh come ON now..... I thought I had you!" He says, whining.

Dream just smiles and grabs George under both arms, lifting him up out of the water.

At the last second, George struggles and Dream's hand slips which sets him off his balance, and they both crash to the floor.

Dream wheezes, laughing so hard his eyes are squeezed shut, George doing the same.

When they both open their eyes, they realize their closeness.

Their noses were centimeters away from touching, Dream on top of George, on his elbows and knees so he isn't crushing George with his weight.

George freezes and stares at Dream's masked smile.

He reaches a hand out to touch the outside of Dream's mask.

"I just wish I could see your face," George admits.

"Soon George, soon. I just... I don't think you'll like what you see. I don't have the prettiest of faces," Dream says, shamefully looking away from George.

"Dream. I really don't think that will be an issue. I would never be mean to you. I mean, lets be honest here, the rest of you is-," George's eyes widen as he almost admits his feelings to Dream.

"Oh? Rest of my body is what? What was that, Gogy?" Dream asks, moving his face closer to George's. "Something you want to tell me?"

Dream's lips are centimetres away from George's. He can literally feel Dream's breath.

"Dream, what are you doing?" George asks, turning his face away in embarrassment, cheeks burning.

"You're like a cave George. You need to be explored. You hide all your best secrets in the deepest, darkest parts, locked away from any man not brave enough to find them." Dream says, voice low. "I will be that man. I will unlock you, piece by piece."

George sucks in a breath.

Dream pulls his mask up just enough for his lips to be revealed.

George immediately turns his head back so he can stare at the one part of Dream's face he was letting him see, and just as he thought, even Dream's lips were perfect.

Dream moves his lips toward Georges, and at the last second swerves toward his ear.

"What secrets are you hiding in that pretty little head of yours, Geroge?" Dream whispers.

George exhales. "Dream... what-,"

Dream puts a hand over George's mouth, positioning his nose back over the other boy's.

"You talk too much," Dream says.

George's eyes widen, anticipating what Dream will do next. Could this be?

Dream's lips meet his hand, right where George's lips would be had he not been covering them.

George sharply inhales.

Did Dream know what he was doing?

George just lays there, unmoving while Dream slowly pulls away, taking his hand with him.

He brushes his fingers lightly across George's lips, taunting the boy.

"You need me, George. And I need you," Dream says.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George prepares for the Christmas Masquerade party in L'Manburg.

"Now then, I think we should be getting back!" Dream says cheerfully, popping up like he hadn't just made George's heart do backflips. 

Dream extends a hand to George, offering to help him up.

George takes it, still wide-eyed from the almost-kiss.

"I could get up by myself..." George mumbles.

He stumbles forward as his legs give out, but Dream sweeps him up, carrying him bridal-style and beginning to walk toward the exit of the castle.

"What was that, George? Oh sorry, it seemed like you were saying you could walk by yourself?" Dream asks, teasing George. "You're so light! It's like I'm carrying air!"

Dream starts to jokingly toss George up in the air, and George lets out a small shriek, wrapping his arms around Dream's neck.

"Ok shut up you nimrod. My muscles must weigh me down," George says.

Dream just wheezes, shouldering open the doors to the training center.

"I've gotta go grab an extra horse real fast. Come with? Oh wait... you have to," Dream says, a devilish smile on his face.

George just rolls his eyes. "You're so stupid."

They enter a stable, knight crests on every stall. There are about 30 horses, every single one black except for one. They are all just walking around or eating hay.

Judging by the crests and the uniformity, these must be the Knight's personal horses.

The stable-hands don't even look up, all too busy to notice and acknowledge the presence of the Head Knight.

Dream clears his throat, catching the attention of a few nearby.

"Oh! Pardon me, sir," one says, bowing to him. 

The rest quickly follow suit, as if it is normal for one of their nobles to walk in with a boy in his arms.

"At ease. Do one of you know where Annalysie is?" Dream asks.

"Yes sir!" The nearest stablehand says. "Right this way."

"Who the heck is Annalysie?" George asks, slight jealously winning over his feelings.

Dream simply chuckles, not answering George's question on purpose.

Dream follows behind the stable hand to a horse of pure white, tossing her head upon Dream's arrival.

"Oh hey there girl! It's been a while! I can't pet you right now, I'm sorry. I'm holding an idiot in my arms who can't even walk! Can you believe that?" Dream coos.

George just rolls his eyes.

"You can set me down now..." He mumbles.

Dream gently sets George on his feet, arm staying around his waist in case he fell again.

Dream reaches out to pet the nose of one of his favorite horses. He hadn't seen her in a while.

"Ready for me to ride you again Anna?" Dream asks.

George snorts beside him.

"What?" Dream asks.

"Well, 'ride her'?" George asks, chuckling.

"You are such an idiot, Geroge." Dream jokes, rolling his eyes. "C'mon."

Dream leads her out of the stable, walking toward the secondary exit.

"We'll go grab Roe, and go for a little ride. How does that sound, George?" 

"Right behind you Dream!" George loved riding horses. There was something so calming about it.

Having the wind rush by his face, sun on his back, and feeling like he was flying was one of George's favorite past-times.

George hoped up behind Dream onto Anna and wrapped his arms around Dream's middle to stay on.

George couldn't see it, but Dream had the widest grin on his face; he clicked his tongue and urged Anna forward around the castle.

When they reached Roe, the two horses were rearing to go for a ride, seeming to be friends.

"Anna I hope you've gotten to see your boyfriend since I've been gone!" Dream exclaims.

"Wait a second... Anna is Roe's girlfriend? Well, that's kind of ironic..." George says.

Dream laughs. "I know what you're referencing over there George... don't think you slipped that one past me."

George just rolls his eyes. "I'll race you to the base and back," George offers.

"You're on," Dream says, looking at George with a warm smile.

George smiles. "On my mark then. 3, 2, 1, GO!"

~ 

*TIME SKIP*

It had been a week since George had started training with Dream and went horseback riding.

They decided to race, and of course, stupid Dream had won, finding a way to cheat since he knew Apparition like the back of his hand.

Dream was seeing immense progress with George's fighting. 

He could barely distinguish between his own combat and George's.

Dream dropped his sword.

"Another stalemate. You're getting so good George, holy crap. I really am a good teacher," Dream said, miming brushing off his shoulders. "Next week, you'll join group training with the rest of my knights. I think you're finally ready!"

George smiles in victory.

He had worked hard for that spot, and he was even starting to develop more toned muscles.

Working out every day had been hard, but worth it.

He would never admit it to himself, but he had always looked up to Dream, thinking he was so cool with his incomparable fighting ability.

Knowing that Dream was impressed just made it ten times better.

"Thanks so much for training me Dream, really. I appreciate it. I SUPPOSE you are a good teacher but don't let that inflate your already MASSIVE ego. Any more, and it will pop," George teases.

Dream wheezes, telling George he has something to do, but to go and meet Wilbur and Techno in the throne room.

When George gets there, he realizes that the Masquerade party was tonight!

"Oh yeah! I forgot about the Christmas party!" George says excitedly. "Do I have something to wear?"

Wilbur looks up. "Yeah, Dream just talked to me through the earpiece and told me that he picked something out for you. You should have both a mask and a suit I believe. We are staying separated so hopefully, nobody will know what each other looks like. That way, we'll be able to keep ourselves safer than ever. If nobody knows who anyone is, we won't have to mess with acting like we've all been interacting more than lately. We eliminate suspicion with that!" Wilbur says.

"We are all going to L'Manburg in intervals, and I'll let you know on your earpiece when it's your time! For now, go ahead and go to one of the bathrooms just to the right and put on your suit. I won't be here when you're done, but maybe you'll see me at the party if you can recognize me!" Wilbur says.

George nods at Wilbur and enters the very grand bathroom.

Dream had picked out a deep blue suit, almost navy. 

The mask that went with it was just plain black, very simple.

George had to admit, though the outfit was simple, he loved it.

He also loved that Dream remembered that blue was one of the only colors he could see without his goggles. 

He missed those goggles so much, but no matter!

It was time for him to have some fun and get into the holidays.

When he put on the suit and looked in the mirror, he was... well very surprised.

The suit was tight in all the right places, showing off the muscles he had developed.

He hated to say it, but he looked good.

He noticed the dress shoes, socks put on the inside.

He pulled out the socks, which were black with Dream's smile on them.

George rolled his eyes. 

Of course, Dream would pull something like this.

He really was too much sometimes.

"Alright George, it's your turn!" Wilbur calls cheerfully.

"I'm coming!" George says. "I just need to go back to Centre and to the skyscraper again, right?"

Wilbur confirms, and George takes a deep breath, putting on his eye mask and exiting the castle.

It was time to go back and see everyone again, and George couldn't be more excited.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno, Wilbur, Dream, and George attend a Christmas Masquerade party.

As George steps off the elevator, he notices how different the mood is in L'Manburg tonight.

There is none of the usual apprehension he can usually feel, thick and confining.

Tonight, he can only feel happiness, as if it were just floating around in the air along with the snowflakes, lightly dusting his hair.

He walks down the path toward Eret's castle, following the soft tendrils of music, reaching out and grabbing him by the pockets to drag him into their soft embrace.

Eret had allowed for a grand ballroom to be built to fit all of the villagers, maids, knights, and George's friends.

Geroge is walking toward the castle, almost reaching the start of the very tall stairs.

Walking down this path pours gallons of memories into him, zooming past him as if they were real.

He can't quite put a finger on the way he feels about it.

Being back in L'Manburg should have felt super great, and yet George just couldn't feel that way. Don't get him wrong, he was happy to be there, yet it felt as if something was... missing?

But no matter. George was now at the bottom of the very grand marble staircase, Eret's Knights lined across the sides to protect the nobles inside.

George floats up the stairs, trying to look as if he was the face of elegance.

Head up, eyes forward, shoulders back, stand tall.

George had to keep repeating these things to himself. He would own the night by the time he left.

He had one goal for the night.

Actually, two.

One was to figure out who Dream was before Dream figured out George, and two... well two was another story...

George blushed just thinking about it...

When George reached the top of the stairs, he found himself standing on a balcony, in view of every single guest already at the party. There was, well, a honk ton of people.

There was a set of very long stairs down to the bottom where everything was held, and there were lots of strands of ivy and Christmas lights, casting down shadows to make it look like they were in a forest. There were floating lanterns almost everywhere, giving the room a warm glow that made everything and everyone so inviting-looking. In the middle stood a very tall Christmas tree, complete with twinkling lights and lots of ornaments. Off to the right of the Christmas tree was a ballroom floor where there were lots of couples dancing.

It was like being in a magical forest, and George instantly fell in love.

George did not think this party would have so many people, and all of them with their gazes turned up to him.

George just squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

He would do this for Dream.

He began to descend the stairs, hearing the room go back to its normal chatter, guests going out on the dance floor, swaying to the beautiful music being played by a full-on orchestra sitting in the top of the room on a balcony.

His steps automatically synced up with the rhythm of the music, and somewhere in the crowd, he knew Dream was watching him.

Dream was doing just that.

He turned to Sapnap who had just appeared at his side, leaning down so he could keep his voice quiet. 

"God he looks good in a suit," Dream admits. He was wearing the same black mask as George, as were the guests. This one little act of uniformity made everyone blend in, yet stand out at the same time in a way Dream couldn't quite explain.

"Hmm? What? Sorry Dream I can't hear you over the sound of your BEAUTIFUL EYES THAT I CAN FINALLY SEE!" Sapnap yells. "I mean I've seen your face before, but IT'S LIKE I'M SEEING SOME OF IT FOR THE FIRST TIME!"

"Sapnap SHUT UP!" Dream says, blushing at the people who had started to stare at the commotion Sapnap had caused. "It covers most of my face anyway. Just not my lips or eyes... And you didn't even see my face, you saw my CHEEKBONE, and only because I lost a stupid bet to you, you numbskull. I'm putting back on my old mask right now."

"It really is fun to mess with you. You make it so easy Dreamie," Sapnap chuckles, pinching Dream's cheeks.

Dream swiftly punches Sapnap in the arm, seeing George walking in their general direction.

He quickly slips on his smile mask, slipping away.

At the last second, George gets tackled by Karl and Quackity.

"GEORGEMIESTER!" Karl screams, hugging him tightly.

"NO! JORGE IS MINE!" Quackity yells, tugging George out of Karl's hold like a rag-doll.

George is doubled over in laugher, elevated to see his close friends.

"Hey guys! I missed you so much!" George exclaims, pulling them both in for a group hug. "Treating Mexican L'Manburg well while I've been gone?"

"Us and Sapnap!" Karl exclaims. "He's over there! Go say hi!"

Karl points to Sapnap, standing alone leaning against the wall, looking like he is talking to himself.

George walks over and gives him a huge hug.

"You talking to yourself over here Sappy Nappy?" George questions, laughing at his friend's weirdness.

"Uhh no D-" Sapnap cuts himself off as he looks behind him realizing that Dream wasn't there anymore. "Ahh... I think I know what's happening..."

George just shakes his head, too excited to dwell on one missing cute tall boy.

"So George! I think we've all been curious as to where you've been!" Sapnap says.

George is met with all the smiling and nodding faces around him.

"Well, it's a little hard to explain. You guys just have to trust me on that bit. I'll tell you as soon as I possibly can, I promise. You lot will be the first to know," Geroge says.

Thankfully, all the boys agree it's not a big deal, and reassure George that they trust him.

"Gogy you're looking extra hot lately," Quackity teases him, mock fanning himself. "I mean look at those TONED muscles! And you look sexy in navy."

"Oh my gosh you guys are idiots," George says, rolling his eyes.

Karl smiles, leaning his head on Sapnap's shoulder with a little sigh.

Since George has been his friend for several years, he can see that tiny little hit of adoration in Sapnap's eyes as he looks at Karl with a warm smile.

Sapnap was very good at hiding his emotions, so to anyone else, it would have been nothing.

Sapnap sees George staring, eyebrows creased together, and Sapnap just gives him a teensy smile and nod, confirming George's suspicion.

If that wasn't enough, Sapnap turns his head to place a gentle kiss on Karl's cheek, making the other boy blush and swat at Sapnap.

George can't help but grin from ear to ear.

He had always thought Sap and Karl would be a perfect couple, and here they were.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the same time...

Where was his shoulder to lean on?

As the three other boys are lost in conversation about who knows what, George slips away from them, back to looking for his best friend.

He is distracted when he walks past an open set of barn doors, leading outside.

There is a cobblestone walkway, guiding to a little covered porch, slightly secluded by the nearby forest. Surrounding the porch, there are red and white roses, the sharp contrast somehow blending together to make the perfect effect.

George stalls by the doors, deciding to walk out there, inner conscious telling him this was the way he was meant to go.

He hears one lone instrument as he begins to follow the path, from the direction of the porch.

His curiosity gets the best of him, following the pleasant melody when he can finally see the outline of a boy, a shadow cast on the ground as a result of the candles lit all around him.

His back is to George, but he can tell that the boy may have darker hair, but it was hard to tell in the night, the rest of his features hidden.

George walks up to the back of the porch, leaning on one of the pillars as he listens to the boy play.

It's one of the most angelic things he has ever heard.

This was even more beautiful than what the orchestra was playing.

The boy had a guitar and was swaying to the music he was playing, notes and melody flowing together like honey.

It was an acoustic cover of a song George had not yet heard, but he couldn't help but sway to the music behind the boy.

When he stopped playing, George tried to make a quiet exit but ended up tripping over his own two feet, falling to the cobblestones with a crash.

The person quickly looks back, ready to deny that he was playing anything when he sees who falls.

George groans, looking up toward the porch and is met with the concerned yet surprised look of the boy.

"Ummm hey. I'm sorry I didn't mean to bother you. I just walked out here to ummm..." George mumbles and trails off.

"George... it's... well it's me." the person says, slightly nervous.

George is taken aback by the voice...

The voice that pulled him out of his slumber every morning, the voice that encouraged him when he was down, the voice that urged him forward in training...

George slowly gets to his feet, walking closer to the taller boy.

"Dream."

"Yeah George. It's me," Dream said, breathing out a soft laugh.

George's eyes rake over Dream's body, black suit perfectly fitting his muscled body. Dream even has on a navy tie. That idiot had the audacity to make them match.

"My god, you look so stunning in navy," Dream whispers.

George is taken aback by Dream's sudden confession. But he must've been joking... surely...

And with a sudden burst of confidence, George reaches his hand up, lingering on Dream's cheek, before he came to grab the corner of his mask, gazing into Dream's eyes, questioning.

Dream takes a deep breath and nods, giving away the last secret of himself to George.

George closed his eyes, slipping the mask off Dream, holding it in his hand.

He opens his eyes, seeing Dream's face for the first time.

Dream's eyes are the first thing that draws George in.

Blue as the deep sea, George felt immediately lost in them. They were kind eyes. Eye's that held hope. Eyes that cared for someone. Eyes that loved George, and George alone.

You're... well you're beautiful Dream."

"Me, beautiful?" Dream chuckles bitterly. "I mean I could never be beautiful."

"Dream. I mean look at you! You're perfect! I mean god, I can't even tell you. I just-"

Dream reaches down, taking George's hand under his chin, smiling. "You talk too much."

And with that, Dream's lips meet George's, feelings that had been swirling around him finally being acted on.

George drops Dream's mask, forgotten, as he slips his arms around Dream's neck, leaning into him.

The wind around them picks up, flickering the candles as George's hand goes to Dream's cheek, and the other goes to the back of his head, tangling in his hair, deepening the kiss.

George pulls away, leaning his forehead against Dreams.

He reaches down, grabbing the other boy's hands to hold on to.

"Umm sorry, George. I was uhh.. just messing with you..." Dream trails off.

George whips his head up, getting lost in those beautiful eyes again.

"Just... shut up Dream," George says, pulling his lips back down to his.

Dream melts into the kiss, wrapping his arms around George's waist, lifting him up.

George locks his legs around Dream's waist, kissing Dream back harder, hands roaming.

When they finally break apart, they both have flushed faces and are breathing hard.

Dream keeps George in his arms, enjoying the comfortable way they fit together, resting his forehead back on George's.

"Dream?" George asks, timidly.

"Yes, Gogy?"

"I... what if I'm not good enough for you?" George asks, voice small and full of insecurity.

"Not good enough for me?" Dream laughs.

"George, you are my whole world."


End file.
